//------------------------------// // 9 Days until T-Day // Story: 14 Days Until T-Day // by bahatumay //------------------------------// 9 Days until T-Day 8:00 am Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle's bedroom Twilight awoke and stretched widely. As she expected, she had a bit of a headache at the base of her horn from using so much magic yesterday. She smiled as she remembered the first time she had had that problem. She had run crying to Celestia, thinking that she had ruined her horn forever. Celestia had calmly comforted her and given her a special herbal mixture that calmed the headache, and Twilight had memorized the recipe that night. She wouldn't be able to use much magic today, which was something she had written into her schedule for today. Her stomach grumbled, and she paused. Perhaps it was Derpy rubbing off on her, but for some reason, she felt like eating a muffin. Preferably blueberry. To her surprise, when she went downstairs, she found Derpy making waffles. This was a quite acceptable substitute. “Pleeease can we keep her?” Spike pleaded around a mouthful of waffle. “These are better than mine.” Twilight laughed lightly. “She has her own home and family,” she protested as she walked over to the cupboards to grab a plate for herself. “I don't think they'd like having her disappear like that.” Derpy paused. “Speaking of family... do you think Dinky will be back soon?” Twilight nodded, before realizing that her head wasn't visible. She pulled back to meet Derpy's eyes. “I do. I wouldn't be surprised if she was working on her quickrun and was coming home today. Until then, we wait.” She lifted her fork and took a bite of the waffle, whereupon her eyes widened and she pulled out her checklist and a quill. “Obtain... waffle recipe... from Derpy...” she muttered. Spike looked over at Derpy. “She does know you're standing right here, right?” he asked around a mouthful of waffle. Derpy shrugged. “Some ponies do silly things, Spike. That's just the way life goes.” 9 Days until T-Day 8:32 am Somewhere within the Great Desert It's impossible to quickrun down a mountain (well, technically it is possible, but there is the ever-constant threat of splattering oneself across a rock, which makes it a rarely practiced technique). It is quite another matter to quickrun across a desert. It had been a complicated spell, but once Dinky learned it, she could cast it at any time. It was, however, a draining spell, and Dinky found herself obligated to stop and rest and recharge every so often. This was the part she had trouble with. Dinky attempted to slow to a stop, but only managed to trip and fall flat on her face and slide a few body lengths along the sandy waste of the desert. “Great,” she muttered, spitting out sand as she pushed herself to her hooves. “And my flawless record still stands.” She looked around, and, to her surprise, had ended up right where she wanted to be: a little oasis in the middle of nowhere, with a little pond and a few trees. She trotted up, looking around to make sure that there was nopony else around. (1). Seeing that it was, she trotted up, filled her canteen, and lit her horn. Magic flowed, targeting the water and destroying any impurities, leaving behind nothing but pure, delicious... “Ech!” Dinky spat. ...hot water. Another spell quickly fixed that, though. When she had drunk her fill, she repeated the process and pulled out her map. Fixing her gaze on another spot, she turned and focused. She should be home in no time. 9 Days until T-Day 9:00 am Ponyville Library Derpy looked out the window and sighed. “I can't help but think about Dinky,” she said. “I bet she's crawling through the desert, tired and thirsty as we speak!” Twilight didn't even glance up from her book. “She'll be fine, Derpy. It wouldn't surprise me if she's perfectly fine and home within the hour.” 9 Days until T-Day 9:23 am Trixie's Airship Trixie paced agitatedly around her captain's chair. Something was wrong. Really. She turned to Sky Charmer. “Don't you hate it when there's something that seems like it's going right, but what's right is probably wrong?” Sky Charmer gave her a flat glare. Even if she hadn't had the ball gag in her mouth, she wouldn't have deigned to reply. “No, this simply is too right... and I'm not talking about the way you're filling out that saddle, either. Mm-mmm.” That got a tiny rise out of Sky Charmer. Her left eye twitched, but she remained still. Trixie smiled, but it quickly faded as she continued pacing. It made no sense that That Purple Pony would abandon Ponyville. It really didn't. Her friends were there—bleh—and she seemed to care about them a lot. So why did she leave? Unless... unless she didn't leave. And she was there the whole time. Or maybe she left, but was planning on returning! “Ha! I've got it!” Sky Charmer rolled her eyes, which probably meant something like, 'Got what? The pony pox?' Trixie interpreted it as 'oh, please enlighten me, my most glorious mistress', and sprinted over, taking Sky Charmer's face in her hooves. “I'm certain that That Purple Pony is hiding, waiting to spring a trap on me!” She pulled Sky Charmer in conspiratorially, as if sharing a secret. “But I'm going to spring a trap on her, first! Ah, the cleverness of the Great and Dreadful Trixie!” Without warning, she kissed Sky Charmer right between the eyes and turned and sprinted out of the room. To Sky Charmer's disgust, Trixie was a very sloppy kisser, and since her hooves were still chained to the floor, she could only stand there helplessly as Trixie's slobber dribbled down her face and down to her nose, and she was unable to get it off. Sky Charmer wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. 9 Days until T-Day 11:47 am Somewhere within the Great Desert Dinky sighed in relief as she finally saw what looked like civilization. That desert had been larger than she remembered it being, and she stumbled into camp, not even minding as she once again tripped and slid along her face. The tents looked like fairly good shelter from the sand, and the cutie mark-less ponies, most fully-grown, all of whom wore loose clothing and seemed larger and leggier than the ones she was used to seeing, all seemed quite friendly. Or maybe that was confusion on their faces. Wait. These weren't Equestrian ponies. These weren't Equestrian ponies at all. Dinky shot to her hooves, and quickly realized that she was shorter than the rest of these ponies, all of whom looked thinner and hardened by the hard desert life. None bore cutie marks. They looked like they knew their way around a fight, but they didn't look like they were pulling out weapons. One pony, who was apparently the leader if the extra fancy clothing he wore was anything to judge by, came near and spoke in a thickly accented voice. “Are you the Great Mage we have been waiting for?” Dinky licked her lips, and decided it was safest if she answered truthfully. “If I am, I didn't know about it.” “But you fit the prophecy!” he proclaimed. “You are a pony with strange proportions...” Dinky looked down at her body briefly, pausing as she reached her stomach and then her hindquarters. Sure, colts weren't lining up to ask her out, and she certainly wasn't going to be asked to model for national magazines anytime soon, but she didn't think she looked that bad. “...and a strange protrusion on your head!” Dinky looked up and frowned. She was rather fond of her horn, and wasn't sure she liked that description of it. If he noticed her discomfort, he didn't comment. “You came from the east!” “Yeah, I guess I- Wait. East?” Horseapples, Dinky thought, quickly rearranging her position in her head and coming to a sudden realization. I ran the wrong way. Guess I really am my mother's daughter... “You have come through the great desert!” “It's not that great,” Dinky contradicted. “Too much sand in the wrong places.” She shook her hindquarters irritably. “And you are marked by diamonds!” Dinky looked down at her chest, and saw no necklace or any jewelry of any sort. Then she realized he referred to her cutie mark, which she turned to display. “Oh, yeah. That refers to magic, which is part of my special talent involving...” “You must be the one!” Dinky looked around. Foals peeked out from behind their mothers' legs, their eyes shining brightly with hope. She swallowed nervously. “And what exactly does 'the one' do?” “You will help us break the rock!” Dinky blinked. “The who does what now?” 9 Days until T-Day 11:58 am Near a large rock somewhere in the desert “This is the rock of promise!” Dinky blinked. It looked like a normal rock to her. It didn't make much sense that there was such a large rock in the desert, but it also didn't make sense that she was hanging out with a bunch of ponies of a different race that had never seen a unicorn before, either, so this was probably par for the course. “For years, this rock has held an enormous treasure!” Dinky walked up and tapped it with a hoof. “Looks like a normal rock to me.” “When the rock is broken, the treasure will be revealed! And you, of the prophecy, are the one to do it!” “Who, me?” “Yes, you!” (2) He leaned in close, and Dinky suppressed a wave of nausea at the smell of his breath. “Unless you are a fake, and deserve to be tied up and left in the sun?” Of the many things Dinky wanted at the moment, that was not one of them. Quickly, she thought back to when she was a young filly. Some ponies thought that her mother's crossed eyes meant she couldn't read, but she could (3), and enjoyed reading Dinky her bedtime story almost as much as Dinky loved hearing it. And boy, did she read. She put emotion into it and gave every character a different voice. She thought back, and tried to channel some of the greater villains her mother had created for her. She turned and snarled in the darkest tone she could muster, “Did I ask for your opinion?” The leader was taken aback and began to bluster, “But... you...” Dinky took a threatening step forward. “I merely put up with your imbecilic rambling to see if you really knew who I was and the extent of my power.” She lit her horn threateningly, flaring a light purple glow. “Now, though, my patience with your idiocy grows thin.” “I... I... but you said...” “Do not pretend to know the ways of magicians, you ground-pounding fool!” she roared, sparks flying from her horn in her 'rage'. “I have been training, immersed in the magical arts since I was a newborn foal!” She took another step forward, and he took two back. “You will give me time to work my magic.” With her magic, she lifted a piece of his long mane and played with it gently, and a smile crossed her face that was as dark and twisted (she hoped) as the one that had crossed Tirek's face in the stories of her youth. “Or maybe you would rather I break you?” He whinnied like a little schoolfilly and scampered, and the other villagers quickly followed suit, leaving Dinky alone with the rock. With a self-satisfied sniff, Dinky turned back to the rock. Now what? Obviously, she could bluff her way out of this until she was rested and just quickrun out of here. Not a problem. Of course, on second thought... A slow smile spread across her face. Didn't Twilight say she should take on new challenges? Find new ways of doing things? Wasn't the opportunity for personal growth the whole purpose of her leaving her home in the first place? She sat down and met the rock's imaginary gaze. She lit her horn and began scanning. “Challenge accepted, you ugly piece of rock.” 9 Days until T-Day 1:39 pm Near a large rock somewhere in the desert Dinky took another drink of her canteen and finished it. She grateful that she had refilled both fairly recently, and had another full one to spare, because at this rate of thinking, it was going to take a while. And even underneath the canopy she had erected, it was pretty warm out. She had learned that it was protected. She felt the magic in it. However, this was a much older magic than she was used to, and really had no idea where to start. As she pondered, she thought she heard the sound of foals whispering. She closed her eyes and sent out a tiny magic pulse, designed for sensing life. Sure enough, it pinged back four small energy readings, likely foals. She waited with eyes closed. Sure enough, she heard the telltale sounds of young ponies trying to be sneaky, and failing horrifically. Sure enough, one was pushed to the front of the group, and poked her head around the tent to look at Dinky. She squeaked in fright as she was lifted by her tail by an invisible mouth and began flailing wildly in a desperate attempt to escape. “What have we here?” Dinky asked, trying to suppress a laugh. “Oh Great Mage, please don't eat me!” the filly pleaded, tears starting to form in her eyes. Dinky laughed as she set the intruder down. “I don't eat ponies,” she said. “I like daisies better.” The filly paused, fear and curiosity battling in her mind. Curiosity won. “What are daisies?” “They're flowers,” Dinky said, slightly surprised that she should have to explain this. “What are flowers?” Knowing that that would be hard to explain, Dinky went with a much safer and not entirely untrue answer. “Wizard food, from a land far across the desert.” The filly nodded in comprehension. Dinky set her down. “So what are you doing out here?” she asked. “I wanted to see a real live wizard!” she said. “They said you were the Chosen One and could open the rock of a thousand years!” A thousand years, eh? How original, Dinky observed drily. “Do you know what's behind the rock?” she asked. She had no idea, and any rumor might be helpful. “No, what?” the filly asked. Dinky laughed. “Guess.” The filly's eyes sparkled. “I don't know, but they say it's something that will solve all our problems!” Dinky found it ironic that she should have to solve a problem so that their problems could be solved by something else, but merely nodded. “That sounds great. I really hope it's a chocolate cake or something.” “What's cake?” “Super wizard food.” “Ah.” 9 Days until T-Day 1:45 pm Ponyville Library Every pony has their own method of dealing with stress. Some ponies eat. Some ponies clean. Some ponies go for a run. Derpy bakes. And boy, does she bake. “Twilight?” she called up from the kitchen. “I think you're out of flour. Again.” “Not so loud!” Twilight hissed from her position behind the couch. “The big bag of flour is in the pantry behind the noodles.” Derpy grinned sheepishly. “That's the one I used.” “What? Derpy! That was a fifty pound bag!” Twilight scolded. “I can't help it! I bake when I'm nervous!” Spike looked up from his muffin on the table. “No complaints here,” he said. “Hey, Twilight. Have you tried her brownies?” He held one up invitingly. “It looks like a muffin,” Twilight noted drily. “Well, yeah. She baked them in the muffin tin so they'd cook faster. Are you absolutely positively sure we can't keep her?” Twilight buried her face in her book. Of course, being behind the couch and not visible to them anyway, it was only for her benefit, but still. “For the last time, Spike, she's a grown mare with grown daughters of her own. No, we can't keep her.” “I'm just worried,” Derpy muttered. Her mind wandered, continually picking up darker and darker scenarios. “What if she got taken captive by a bunch of wild, nomadic desert savages? What if they're surrounding her and they're getting ready to cook her right now? They'll make Dinky sandwiches for everypony!” 9 Days until T-Day 2:40 pm Somewhere in the desert “So then he says... -snrk!- He says, 'Well, yeah. How do you think I got the horseshoes?'.” The foals burst out laughing. Dinky couldn't help but smile. All her mother's lame jokes really came in handy around ponies that had never heard them before. She took another drink from her canteen, and was mildly disappointed when she discovered that it was now empty. “Do any of you know where I can get more water?” The fillies shook their heads. “Nuh uh," one answered. "Water's sacred out here. If we find some, we save it.” Something occurred to Dinky. No magic is circular; it is more of a line. After all, it had to be cast in the first place, which means it has a beginning and therefore an end. There will always be a way to unravel it, much like a single wayward thread could unravel a loose-knit sweater. The mark of a great magician was hiding that thread so well that it was nearly impossible to find. This rock was hiding such an impossible to find thread. Water was impossible to find, too. Coincidence? Dinky stood up and stepped out into the sun, closing her eyes and letting it beat down on her face. Instantly, she felt the sweat begin to form on her forehead and trickle down around her horn. Perfect. One filly took a hesitant step forward. “Are you ok?” she asked. Her friend pulled her backwards. “Hey, don't interrupt magic things!” she hissed. “You could get turned into sand!” Lyra couldn't suppress a chuckle. “No, no sand. Maybe a spider, though.” “What's a spider?” “A tiny yet fearsome beast with eight legs and eight eyes, and it loves to crawl into foals' ears at night and nibble on their brains.” Every foal there quickly took a tiny step back. Fusing the water with her magic, she lifted her sweat, and then whipped it like a blade, slashing the rock. She was excited to see that there was a gash in the rock. It was small, to be sure, but it was there. Every foal took a tiny step forward. Grinning, Dinky lit her horn and slashed again. 9 Days Until T-Day 3:00 pm Trixie's Airship Trixie walked... nay, pranced back into the captain's chambers. “Guess what Trixie did today?” she asked in a sing-song voice. Sky Charmer looked away, disappointed that 'died in a fire' was not the correct answer. “Well, not only did Trixie catch up on her beauty sleep and is looking better than ever...” Sky Charmer snorted, and was suddenly thankful that the ball gag did not prevent this derisive action. Trixie, however chose to ignore it, and continued, “...but she also set up wards throughout the Everfree Forest! If That Purple Pony even comes within a pace of the lines, I will know.” “Your Trixieness?” a guard spoke up. “What if another unicorn comes through?” “The Great and Insightful yet Terrible Trixie already thought of that!” Trixie proudly proclaimed. “The wards are only set to alert me when a unicorn of my caliber crosses them.” This made sense, but also prompted another question. “How did you get out without setting them off?” he asked. Trixie rolled her eyes. “Pegasi...” she said disparagingly. “Not understanding even the simplest of magics.” She leaned over and rested her head on Sky Charmer's shoulder. “Us unicorns have to stick together, don't we?” Sky Charmer wished she could speak at that moment for no other reason than to correct her grammar. If she didn't know better, she'd think Trixie was doing it on purpose, just to annoy her further. “Today, Trixie also achieved something most ponies thought impossible!” Sky Charmer was moderately disappointed that the accomplishment wasn't Trixie staying silent for longer than thirty minutes, because that was something she certainly thought was impossible. “Behold! The Great and Terrible Trixie presents... an apple!” She held out the red fruit proudly, as if awaiting thunderous applause. Instead, she got a very confused guard. “An apple?” “Yes! An apple stolen from Sweet Apple Acres! Home of the greatest apples in Equestria! Were Trixie an apple, she would be an apple from Sweet Apple Acres!” Were Trixie an apple, she would probably give the eater massive indigestion. And likely the runs as well. “Here, Sky Charmer. Smell the apple.” This was, without a doubt, the weirdest, most ir- Sky Charmer's walls of snark and sarcasm began to crumble. An apple... a sweet, sweet apple... So red, so round, so delicious... She felt her mouth begin to water, drool pooling inside on her tongue and dribbling out around the ball gag. “And it's all mine!” Trixie took a big bite of the apple, sending juice everywhere. The sticky liquid landed on Sky Charmer's face, and she was once again unable to wipe it off. “To think, that farm pony thought she could outsmart the Great and Dreadful Trixie!” 9 Days until T-Day 3:25 pm Sweet Apple Acres Farmhouse, Kitchen Entering from the orchard, Big Mac crossed through the kitchen for a drink, but paused when he saw his sister sitting at the table, staring at a piece of paper. Applejack heard him walk in and smiled wryly. “Hey, Mac,” she said. Big Mac cast an inquisitive look at the paper. He walked up behind her and read the note. To Applejack: By the time you get this, Trixie will have had the idea that she needs to prove herself better than the ponies she faced before. To accomplish this end, she will likely be stealing an apple or two from the south orchard, which is closest to the Everfree Forest. Please let her do this, and I will recompense you for whatever she takes. Thanks in advance, The signature at the bottom was scratched out, as if it had been written instinctively and then crossed out, but Big Mac recognized Twilight's writing instantly. “Huh,” he said simply. Applejack nodded. “Yep. When Ah got this, Ah thought, there's no way Trixie would dare show her face back on this farm, and so Ah wrote a note back, tellin' Twi that Ah had an apple pie what said differently.” “She came,” Big Mac observed blandly. “Yep. Not fifteen minutes after Spike brought this over, caught her runnin' through the south fields with an apple in her magic, cacklin' like it was Nightmare Night all over again.” Big Mac nodded. “So now Ah'm caught between eatin' crow and bakin' her the pie, or just never mentionin' it again.” Big Mac knew his sister and her fierce honest streak, and was not surprised when he turned towards the kitchen counter and observed that the oven was lit, and a large bag of flour was sitting on the floor. He turned back to his sister with a grin on his face. “Don't you say a word,” Applejack threatened. Big Mac decided to take the safest course of action. “Ah'll peel the apples,” he said helpfully. 9 Days until T-Day 4:58 pm Near a large rock somewhere in the desert “Tartafyal! Tartafyal! Tartafyal!” The cheers of the desert ponies echoed across the sand. Dinky rode high on the cheers. She had no idea what they were saying (if that's even what they were saying), but whatever it was, she felt exhilarated. She slashed again with her ethereal water sword, and the gash widened even further. The rock face now resembled one of the hot cross buns from Sugarcube Corner, and Dinky had no intentions of stopping. A few more slashes, and a quiet crack came from the rock. The assembly fell silent. Dinky stepped forward to take a closer look. It seemed to be cracked enough. Maybe. She stepped closer, placed a hoof on each end of the fissure, and pushed. The rock shattered, sending pieces flying everywhere... and sending Dinky falling down into a hole. Dinky sat up and groaned, rubbing her flank painfully. Of course. Enchanted rock, illogical reaction. She should have expected that. What she didn't expect was the humid air. Opening her eyes, she gasped. Gems. Gems, jewels, gold, silver—this was a dragon's hoard. And judging by the river running through this underground cave, it had been a water dragon. Suddenly, the water-requiring rock made sense. And judging by the large pile of bones jumbled over in the corner, the dragon was dead and not returning anytime soon. Dinky ran back to the hole, where the ponies gathered around looking quizzically in. “Come in! It's safe!” she called. A filly took her at her word and jumped in without a backwards glance. Dinky, who had been shielding her eyes with a hoof, didn't see her jump, and took the impact right on her back. “Change of plans,” Dinky groaned from her new sprawled position on the ground. “Let me get a net or something.” Looking around, she noticed some silk bolts in a corner. This could work. 9 Days until T-Day 5:08 pm Ponyville Library Derpy paced impatiently. “I'm so worried!” she said. She looked around, as if expecting somepony to offer comfort, but Twilight was silent and Spike was asleep. Derpy frowned. “Oh, Dinky... please be alright.” 9 Days until T-Day 5:09 pm Inside the water dragon's cave “All hail Princess Dinky!” Dinky yelled, waving a golden scepter and wearing a large golden crown. She twirled the silk sheet she wore as a cape. “I am your deliverer and your princess now! Bring me young, virile stallions!” Nopony listened to her (which was a good thing, as she had her eye on a colt back in Ponyville) as they were busy celebrating their discovery. Namely, the stream of water that flowed through the stone cave. “We shall never go thirsty again!” cried the ponies. Foals danced in celebration, and even some of the adults danced, too. Some went so far as to cry tears of joy. Dinky lowered her scepter. “You mean you've got all this treasure and you don't want it?” A wise old mare looked at her with a confused expression on her face. “You can't eat it, you can't drink it, what use is it?” Dinky was taken aback. “It... looks pretty?” she suggested. The mare shrugged. “If it is important to high magician, she may take it.” Dinky looked around at the huge pile of gold and laughed. Today was a good day. 9 Days until T-Day Somewhere in the Everfree Forest 7:14 pm Panting, Dinky slowed to a stop. The Everfree Forest had been an easy destination... Ponyville had not been. She closed her eyes, trying to get a bearing on her location. Nothing. Ah well. She had been lucky so far. She was probably close to Zecora's hut. Had she been paying attention, she might have sensed the ward in front of her. But she was not, and she didn't. Magic feedback reverberated painfully through her body, and Dinky collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably. 9 Days until T-Day Trixie's Airship, Captain's Room 7:25 pm “Here she is, oh Great and Dreadful One.” Dinky raised her eyes and her vision began to focus. She blushed as she saw a unicorn, chained to the ground and wearing a tight saddle with various straps that left a little too little to the imagination, but her attention was instantly grabbed by a blue unicorn with a periwinkle mane that spun around in the captain's chair, her eyes glaring daggers at the younger unicorn. “You!” she said... before pausing and taking a step back. “You are not That Purple Pony.” “I... take it that's a good thing?” Dinky asked. “But you set off my wards!” “I know,” Dinky said, instinctively attempting to reach up and rub her horn, but the chains she wore prevented this. “I'm still feeling it.” “What's in your bag?” she demanded. “Baggish stuff,” Dinky sniped before she could stop herself. The blue unicorn snorted. “Do not trifle with the Great and Dreadful Trixie.” She turned to one of the guards. “Open it.” The guard did so, and when he turned it upside down, all the jewels and silks fell to the floor. Everypony present gasped. Trixie's eyes narrowed. “Trixie will ask just one more time. Who are you?” Dinky straightened up as best she could. “I am Dinky, daughter of Derpy, and I am the One prophesied of old! I split the rock of a thousand years and brought nourishment to an entire population!” Trixie was taken aback. That was quite the accomplishment. “Really?” she gasped. Dinky giggled. “Nope. I'm just really good with magic.” Trixie lit her horn and grinned darkly. “Funny thing... So is Trixie.” 9 Days until T-Day 8:10 pm Ponyville Library Commons Spike wandered into the living room, where Derpy sat on her cloud, engrossed in a book. He turned towards the couch, where Twilight was busily taking notes on something that she found fascinating, but had nearly put him to sleep when she tried explaining it. “You know, I didn't think you'd ever take a day off, Twilight,” he said. “Feels good, doesn't it? To do nothing all day? Send a couple notes and relax?” “This is not a day off, Spike,” Twilight replied sharply, “and I didn't 'do nothing'. It is a recuperation day, as was tentatively scheduled in as a result of the large magic expected to be depleted on the previous day. There is still plenty to be done and plenty of research to do. Since the invisibility spell requires a steady flow of magic, I couldn't go outside; so today was a catch-up day for other projects.” Spike rolled his eyes. “To-may-to, to-mah-to.” Derpy threw the book she was reading off onto the couch. This disrespect for a book earned her a sharp glare from Twilight, but the pegasus wasn't paying attention. “This still didn't answer my question!” she complained. Twilight looked at the book and her eyes widened slightly. “'Astrophysics and You—a study'? What kind of question did you have?” “When is Dinky going to get here?” Ah. That made sense. But before Twilight could offer reassurance, she was interrupted. “You know, what with the perfect timing we've had today and all,” Spike spoke up, “it wouldn't surprise me if there was a knock on the door in three... two... one...” Silence reigned through the house. Twilight giggled. “Maybe... now!” Spike tried again. Silence. “Now!” Still nothing. “Whatever,” Spike said, turning to walk away. No sooner had he done so than a loud noise rang through the air. It sounded vaguely like a pony running face first into the door. Twilight's first thought was, 'Rainbow, not again!' But Rainbow Dash usually crashed through a window, not the door. But before she had a chance to process all this, Derpy came bursting in through the kitchen, bowling Spike over in the process, and ripped open the door. “Dinky!” Twilight looked up and sprinted over. To her surprise, there lay Dinky on the ground, mane a mess, legs askew, and looking very disoriented. To be perfectly honest, she looked quite a bit like her mother. “Dinky, are you all right?” Derpy asked, pulling her up and into a tight hug. “Oh, I missed you so much!” “'m fine,” Dinky said, holding a hoof to her head. “Quickrunning here was a bad idea.” Derpy pulled her even tighter. “Please never leave me again!” she cried. “Mom,” Dinky said flatly. “I'm fine. Seriously.” “Whoa!” Spike interrupted. “What happened to your cutie mark?” Derpy released her daughter, looked over, and gasped when she saw Dinky's flank. Emblazoned over her diamonds was a mark identical to the one on the paper left on City Hall's door: a blue swoosh with a star-tipped wand. “What happened?” Derpy demanded. All three jumped as the door slammed shut, and all three found themselves lifted through the air and carried into Twilight's bedroom. 9 Days until T-Day 8:35 pm Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle's room The door quickly slammed shut, and Twilight faded back into view. “This shouldn't be happening,” she said. “Nopony can change a cutie mark.” “Oh, I think it's more of an intense magical overlay used more in illusionary magic than cutie mark altering,” Dinky said. Twilight lit her horn and examined Dinky's flank, and found this to be true. “Can you take it off?” Derpy asked. Twilight shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again. “Yes, I can. But I won't, because I don't want Trixie to get suspicious. This is a strong illusion, and not many could break it.” “So she's like testing to see if you're here?” Derpy asked. “Kindof.” Derpy pulled Dinky into another tight hug. “I'm so sorry,” she said, with barely concealed rage. “Did they do anything else to you?” Dinky thought back. Dinky collapsed to the ground, the pain in her flank fading to a dull burn. Trixie gasped for breath as the light around her horn dimmed. “Ha,” she panted. “So much for you going against the Great and Dreadful Trixie. You two, get her out of my sight.” The two ponies dragged her away, taking her through the ship and out the doors. Dinky barely registered that they were somewhere in the Everfree still. As they left the airship itself, Dinky was mildly surprised to find herself dragged further into the forest and behind a tree. “What are you doing?” one pony asked. “Trixie said dump her and leave.” “Oh, no. I'm not leavin' without some of that flank.” Dinky's eyes widened at those implications, and she began struggling against her bonds. “Stop squirming. It'll be over soon.” But what some ponies didn't realize was that magic suppressors must be physically placed, because if they are placed magically (as Dinky's had been), the magic is absorbed by the suppressor and the ring will not be pushed down far enough to reach the base of the horn, which is the required positioning for total inhibition of magic. This is why most suppressors used in the criminal justice system have mouthstraps to assist in proper placement (conversely, inhibitors used as bedroom playthings do not). To their surprise, Dinky lit her horn, lifted off the ring and threw it against a tree. Holding both in place with her magic, she levitated a rock and grabbed the first one's tail, lifting it roughly. The stallion quickly put two and two together and began struggling furiously. “Oh, stop squirming,” Dinky purred. “It'll be over soon.” “Nothing I couldn't handle myself,” Dinky said honestly. “Ok,” Derpy said, pulling her back into a hug. “I'm just glad you're back.” “Me too,” Dinky said. “Twilight, do you need any help with anything in the plans?” “Oh, not right now.” Twilight's eyes narrowed slightly. “I think I'll have to do some personal rearranging of the revenge path, that's all.”