//------------------------------// // Tick Tock // Story: Harmony's Wrath // by hahatimeforponies //------------------------------// "Twilight, are you alright?" "Yeah... I won't be doing any heavy magic any time soon, but I'm okay..." The unicorn grunted, gently rubbing her horn. It still smarted a little from the horn-lock, sort of like a toothache. Fluttershy timidly sidestepped around the skeleton, and ventured a poke to the ribcage. She squeaked and retreated behind Rainbow Dash as the bones rattled. Twilight peered into the library ahead. "This... there's something not right with this." "Gee..." Rainbow picked up the unicorn's skull on a hoof. "... ya think?" "No, no, with this library..." She leaned forward, trying to get the best look she could without actually entering. Something in here claimed that poor unicorn's life, after all. "Hmm... everything in this library must have an enchantment, similar to the one on the artifacts. I wonder..." She leaned forward, and with a faint glow and a little groan, she pulled a book over from the nearest shelf. She held it up to check the title. Stable & Cooper's Guide to Tax Law. "This'll do." Under normal circumstances, she could never bring herself to destroy a book, but these were far from normal circumstances, and at least she could find a particularly inane volume to soften the blow. Not wasting any more time, she pulled the sword from its sheath on her back, and dropped the book on the doorway's floor. She grimaced, and brought the sword down on the tome. Thunk. When she opened her eyes and examined the book, it was perfectly intact; the sword had just bounced away harmlessly. "Just as I thought..." "What?" Dash tilted her head as Twilight sheathed the sword again. "Everything inside this room is indestructible. It was probably enchanted to make the archive last longer. If I could copy the spell and apply it to my own library that would be great, but that's not what we're here for. As for this poor colt here..." She tapped the unicorn's skull. Examination of the skeleton revealed it to be quadrupedal - recent. "... I can't find any evidence of damage to the bones, so I can safely guess he starved to death. Which makes sense when you think about it - if your whole library is completely safe from any kind of damage, then you don't need to actively repel intruders. You just lock them in. I think this door only opens from the outside." Twilight mused. Rainbow gulped and tossed the skull away. "So what, do I have to dash in, grab the books and dash out?" "You don't know what books you're looking for. Besides, I have a better idea..." She smirked, and levitated another few books from the nearest shelf and stacked them in the doorway, just over the line of stone where the door had retreated into. "If these books are indestructible, we can use them to keep the door wedged open!" "That... works." Dash quirked an eyebrow. It took Twilight a number of minutes to gather enough books to fill the doorway from top to bottom and leave enough room to get in and out, and for the stacks to be stable. She eventually had to build the books into two pyramidal structures against either side of the door, leaving a narrow passage to climb through. Uneasily, the three ponies ventured inside. "Rainbow, before we go any further, we need to form a backup plan." "Okay?" Dash looked over her shoulder, back at the unicorn. "If we hear the door, I need you to grab me and get me out as fast as possible. I might not be able to do it right away, but I can get the door open from the outside." "... right." The pegasus took a few moments to go over the plan in her head. She made sure to stay ready, listening out for the door and keeping her wings flared and ready. The three ponies split up and began to trawl the shelves. Only Twilight was searching with any focus; the two pegasi were largely just killing time. Rainbow Dash made sure to stick close behind Twilight, concentrating on the backup plan. Just as well - many of the volumes were written in an archaic form of Equestrian, barely understandable to modern ponies. Twilight was well-read enough to figure it out, but Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were largely clueless. The unicorn raced through shelf after shelf, skimming the spines for titles. The archive was well-categorised, and well-stocked; there were at least two floors of tall bookshelves, and the room was about fifteen by forty lengths in size. With time of the essence, she hastened through the shelves. "Cookery... herbal recpies... no, no, no!" She yelled out in frustration. After her quick sweep of the top level, on which the door was positioned, she hopped over the guard-rail to start on the second. "Magic... now this is more like it!" Watching her from above, Dash stayed up top. She kept one ear trained on the door, listening for slipping books. She watched Twilight pull books from the shelf, spend a second or two deciphering the cover, and toss them away. Today, Twilight! "This is all fascinating stuff, but not helpful... ancient pony magic seems to have been more element-based than the emotion-based magic we use today!" She took a few books from the shelf and stuffed them in her saddlebag; Diaries of a Planeswalker and Manual of the Elements. "And they had dozens of elements to draw on! Fire, water, earth, air, stone, metal, lightning, wood, flesh, light, ice, steam, sand, elements completely undetectable to the naked eye..." "... and blood?" Dash chipped in, leaning over the railing, hoping to speed the process along. "I... actually hadn't thought of that! Of course!" Returning her attention to the shelves, she proceeded to scour the shelves for books pertaining to elemental magic. Whole volumes dedicated to individual elements were tossed aside as irrelevant; 1001 Uses for Lithomancy and Fundamentals of Photomancy were tossed aside, bumping books off the shelves behind her. The sound of falling books made Rainbow jump and look back at the door anxiously. Their makeshift brace was still holding - for now. Take your time, no rush... "Aha! I think this is our book. Magic of the Body: An Index of Sarcomancy, Osteomancy and Haemomancy!" She looked up excitedly, only to be met with puzzled expressions from the two pegasi. She sighed and tucked the book into her saddlebag. "Flesh, bone and blood magic. Now let's get out of here!" Dash nodded dutifully and hopped over the barrier. "What... what are you doing?" Twilight asked. Rainbow said nothing and trotted around the corner, disappearing behind one of the bookshelves. With a firm thump, she kicked both legs against it, sending its contents tumbling to the floor in a heap. "Wh... oh! I get it..." Twilight hopped up on to the pile and clambered to the top, and used the top of the shelf to return to the top level. However, Fluttershy wasn't there waiting. She looked one way and then another, and saw her bolting for the door. A further peek around the corner revealed that the book stack was starting to slip, and the gap was gradually narrowing. She gasped and quickly followed. On the floor below, Rainbow Dash fluttered to the upper level at a leisurely pace. "Guys? Where'dja go?" Another thud drew her attention to the door; she saw the end of a pink tail slip through the gap, about half the size it was when they entered, books tumbling from it. "No no no no no no!" She leaned forward into a full sprint, taking just three seconds to clear the length of the library, and skidded to a halt in view of the door. The gap was still closing, and Twilight was still picking her way up the pile. Rainbow gulped and galloped towards the door, long, flying leaps closing the distance rapidly. Twilight tripped on a book, her face landing square in the doorway. Dash braced herself, taking aim, closing her eyes, spreading her front hooves and craning her head to the side, pushing her spear's head out of harms way. On the next gallop, she remained airborne, and took off at full speed. Thump. She felt Twilight's flank impact her neck, just as planned. She heard her squeal in surprise. So far, so good. Her momentum propelled them forward, just as planned. She could only hope she wasn't that split second too late. Whoosh. A wall of cold air told her that they'd cleared the doorway, just as planned. Opening her eyes, she watched the bewildered unicorn sail across the room, and tumble along the floor on landing. A few bruises, nothing serious. Dash, conversely, carried on into the clearing, and brought herself to a floating stop in the far doorway. Behind her, the door finally closed too small to crawl through, only two books and a few cyan feathers left wedged inside. She turned to perform a headcount; one... two. "That was..." Twilight grunted, brushing herself off. "... a bit too close..." Three young fillies, draped in crimson capes, stood outside a door. High above it, a large sign over the wooden building read, The Hoofington Arms. The building, like much of the town, was a drab, dark brown; regardless of who lived inside, it certainly looked less cheerful than bright and colourful Ponyville. Since they'd arrived, they made a point to find somewhere warm to stop for a breather; time, however, had gotten away from them, and when they woke, the shadows were at a markedly different angle. It wasn't dark yet by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly wouldn't be long. The three shared uneasy glances. "So... we just go in, ask for directions, and leave?" Applebloom asked her companions. "Right." Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle replied. Applebloom inhaled and steeled herself, and leaned forward to push the door open. "Hey! Wait!" Another young voice called from behind them. Perplexed, the three looked around, to see another young filly galloping towards them through the snowy streets, wearing another of their scarlet capes. "... Dinky?" Scootaloo's jaw hung open a little. "Dinky!" The unicorn slid to a halt, just a few feet short of knocking the other three ponies over. "Hey guys! I ran all the way here! I hope I didn't miss too much!" Dinky Hooves panted, exhausted, but still unable to contain her excitement. "Wow! How did you find us?" Sweetie Belle responded in tone. Dinky just pointed to the scooter tracks in the snow. Scootaloo chuckled and stepped in front of her scooter. "Alright! You're just in time!" Applebloom bounced. "We were about to stop and get directions for Canterlot!" "Uhm... you can see it in the side of the mountain..." Dinky quirked a brow. "But all quests need to stop in an inn at least once!" Scootaloo whined. "Uh... right." Dinky chuckled. Drawing strength from their (slightly) increased numbers, Applebloom shoved open the door of the inn. Inside, the inn was no less dreary than it was outside. It was dimly lit, a little dusty, and the patrons lumbered around in a lazy fashion. The front door opened straight into the bar, sparsely populated at this point in the day. A few ponies slumped in front of some greasy looking food, a world-weary looking unicorn tended the bar, idly cleaning some glasses, and a single pony sat on one of the barstools, their features obscured by a tattered purple cape. The sights weren't incredibly comforting to the four little fillies, but regardless, Applebloom took charge and marched right up to the bar. She hopped up on to a barstool and leaned over to talk to the barkeep. "Hey mister, can you tell us the way to..." She began. The innkeeper groaned and cut her off. "No foals in the bar. Scram, kiddo." "Ah was just lookin' for..." "I said beat it!" This stallion was having none of it. Applebloom scowled and jumped off the stool. "Where..." The pony in the purple cloak turned, revealing her face. A single, frazzled, white bang hung along the side of her face, contrasting with her blue coat and horn. "... where are you lookin' for?" She slurred, setting down a drink. The clear, brown liquid sloshed over the bar. "Easy there rummy, or I'll kick you out with 'em!" The innkeeper interrupted. Applebloom started to back away, and the other three crusaders held the door open for her. "Eagh, I keep giving you bits, you keep giving me drink, and we're all cool..." The intoxicated unicorn barked back, retreating into her cloak. The barkeeper just huffed and resumed his work. The four little fillies promptly departed. "Well, that was... interesting..." Scootaloo blinked as the door swung shut behind them. Three ponies sat around a table at restaurant for lunch, reconvening after asking some questions around town. Pinkie Pie was perfectly happy to tuck in, a shiny firework sticking out of her saddlebag; Rarity and Applejack, however, were less concerned with their food. The only sounds were Pinkie's contented munching - the other two ponies were too deep in worry to keep conversation. "So what do you wanna do now, girls? How long do we have 'til Twilight and Fluttershy and Dashie get back?" Pinkie asked cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. She wasn't being blithely ignorant - she hoped that she could at least try and keep their spirits up. Her efforts, however, were met with silence. This silence was shattered when the door of the restaurant swung open, and a grey pegasus charged inside. With her head in profile, they could see one amber eye looking around urgently, and a messy, soft yellow mane bounced on her head. As she skidded to a halt, her cutie mark came into view; a small cloud of bubbles. "Has anypony seen a young filly? Unicorn, kinda greyish, yellow mane?" She asked to the room. A clump of snow dropped from her hoof as she tucked her wings back to her sides. Rarity gasped. Is that... it's worth a shot. "Is her name Dinky Hooves?" She ventured. The pegasus turned to face her, making both eyes apparent; they were pointed in clearly different directions. Despite this, her expression remained wholly serious. "Y... yes!" The pegasus bounded over to their table, stopping at it with a slight nudge. "Have you seen her?" She panted. "Earlier she was outside my shop looking for Sweetie Belle... I don't suppose she's... you know her or anything?" "Oh, yes!" She nodded. "I'm Dinky's mother, Derpy Hooves, you might have seen me around sometime delivering the mail. She's told me all about the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And you are...?" "Oh! Sorry. My name is Rarity, I'm Sweetie Belle's sister. And this..." She pointed a hoof across the table. "Is Applejack, Applebloom's sister. I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say... Dinky is missing?" Derpy nodded gravely. "That's interesting... we can't find Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and Scootaloo anywhere either." Rarity sighed. Derpy turned to Pinkie Pie. "And are you Scootaloo's..." "Ahem..." Rarity nudged Derpy and hushed her tone a little. "Scootaloo is an orphan. She's in Cheerilee's care for the time being. This is just a friend of ours, Pinkie Pie." Derpy inhaled deeply in acknowledgement and nodded, before they resumed normal conversational volume. "So, when did you see Dinky?" She asked, worry returning to her tone. "It was a few hours ago." "Darn... that's about the last time I saw her too. The other Crusaders left a note for her, and when she came home earlier she left again right away and oh Celestia I've completely forgotten about that letter, of course!" Derpy gasped. Applejack winced a little at the mention of Celestia's name, but not noticeably so. "Come on! I think I know where they went!" As clumsily as she had arrived, Derpy stormed out the door, leaving the other three ponies to hastily abandon their food and follow. The four ponies stumbled into the Ponyville post office one by one, and Derpy immediately set to work trying to find the letter. She ducked and dove around the room, rifling through stacks of letters intently. While she searched, Rarity raised an eyebrow, and picked up one stray envelope from the floor by the door. Big, messy, crayon letters, reading simply, 'Dinky'. "Uhm... is..." Before Rarity could finish her sentence, Derpy leaped over and grabbed the letter in her mouth. "Fhhff ihf!" "... I'm sure." Quirking an eyebrow, she pulled it from Derpy's mouth and opened it to read. "'Dear Dinky, we're really.. hmm... misspelled 'couldn't'... when you got better... we're going on an adventure to Canterlot, to find Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash? If you're quick you can catch us before we get too far?' This is... do they know? How could they know? I thought it was a secret!" "What's secret?" Derpy tilted her head earnestly. Rarity and Applejack exchanged worried looks; after a moment, Applejack nodded once. It was going to have to happen sooner or later. "Miss Hooves... we have reason to believe your daughter may be in danger." Rarity began. The colour drained from Derpy's face. "What we're about to tell you will likely shock and disturb you, and before we do, you must swear to tell nopony of this information." Derpy closed her eyes and inhaled. She reached over Pinkie's shoulder to close the door behind them. Keeping them closed, eyebrows lowered, she spoke in a soft, grave tone. "I don't care what this information is. I don't care what you ponies are doing in secret. I don't care what you want me to do, as long as it'll keep my daughter safe." "Alright." Applejack spoke up. "Now this is gonna sound a lil' far-fetched, but ah swear, it's the honest truth..."