//------------------------------// // Hurricane // Story: DayBreak // by MyHobby //------------------------------// The soldier’s wings tapped against his golden armor. He had accompanied Princess Celestia to dozens of shows in his years of service. This time, same as every other, he was to keep an eye on the ponies in and around the opera house. Most of the time, the most exciting thing he did during the event was stop Prince Blueblood at the door to make sure he didn’t smuggle in booze. The opera had been going on for a while; at least an act or two. The guards generally shifted around just after an intermission, and he’d moved from outside the princess’ booth to just inside the opera house’s door. He didn’t expect to see anypony except fellow guards until the next break. It came as a double surprise, after a sea of unicorn nobles, to see a pegasus mare walking through the doors. Her dress was backless, allowing her pale blue wings freedom of movement. Her white mane drifted around her face like feathers. The guard felt his eyes trail towards her hind legs, where the dress split open almost to her cutie mark. He cursed the thought that he was still on duty. He puffed his chest out and decided to at least find out why she had arrived so late. That was when she killed him. He extended his right wing towards her in a classic pegasus salutation. Her eyes flicked towards him, followed by the rest of her face. Her left cheek held a deep scar, surrounded by bare skin and purple veins. Her wing snapped forward in a smart salute. A small, glinting object flew from between her feathers. He didn’t have time to react with anything more than a blink. It was a blade, with an edge keener than a hairsbreadth. A golden glow flashed across his coat as his armor’s enchantment fought with the weapon, but the magic was parted in an instant. A sharp pain in his neck cut off any chance of a scream. She caught him as his knees buckled and set him gently, silently, on the ground. The last thing he ever saw were her gray eyes, hard as granite. *** It was Celestia’s favorite part of this particular play, when the hero confessed his undying devotion to the mare of his dreams. She had to refuse his affections, of course, because her father forbade her ever marrying a common earth pony. It was still obvious that they were madly in love. It was, in short, the scene where the opera got good. The two other ponies in her private box were plainclothes guardsponies, her personal protectors Care and Caution. Long ago, when the opera house had first been built, she had been accompanied by soldiers in full ceremonial armor. The glint of armor caused one too many singers to miss a beat or two, so Celestia insisted on the distracting protection being left outside. Caution Tape, an earth pony from Fillydelphia, pulled at the neck of his tuxedo. He wasn’t too fond of romance, more’s the pity, and so busied himself crowd-watching. Care Carrot on the other hoof, a unicorn from Manehattan, kept one ear to the opera and the other behind her, listening for word from the guards stationed in the hallway. Celestia placed a gentle hoof on Care’s reddish-orange shoulder. “Is something bothering you?” Care shook her head. “No, your Majesty. I’m just staying alert.” Celestia sighed through her nose. “I guess I can’t begrudge you doing your job. Someday, though, we need to attend an opera when you’re not on duty.” “All due respect,” Care said with a small smile, “wouldn’t I still need to help out in an emergency?” “It’d give you an excuse to keep both eyes on the stage.” Celestia’s eyes sparkled as she beheld heartfelt vows rebuffed by tearful pleas. “Ooh, here comes the father…” *** Earth ponies were the strongest of the tribes. Pound for pound, muscle for muscle, there was no denying they contained greater force. It was part of their innate magic connection with the land that they could be as firm as boulders. So the earth pony guard found herself a bit surprised that she was being manhandled by a random pegasus mare. She had been on her way to take her place at the outer doors, fulfilling the rule that guards should at least come in pairs. She’d stopped just long enough to make sure Blueblood was behaving himself. It was plenty of time for the pegasus mare to sneak up on her and lock her in a hold. The edges of the guard’s vision became cloudy white. She was vaguely aware that the hold was designed to just knock somepony out, but one wrong move, one bit of pressure expertly applied, could snap her neck. Instead of trying to muscle her way out of the mare’s grasp, the guard opened her mouth to sound the alarm. One bit of pressure expertly applied ended that particular call for help. The guard’s spear clattered to the marble floor. The mare bent down to pick it up not in her hooves, but with her wings. She carried it at her side as she marched down the corridor, casting sharp glances at the numbers above the entrances to the opera hall. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she heard an accusing voice tell her to halt. She looked behind to see three guards trailing her. Two pegasi and a unicorn. The unicorn wore a red sash denoting him as a lieutenant. His horn glowed green, aiming a paralyzing spell at her. She was under arrest for suspicions of murder, he said, and she would do well to surrender immediately. Her wings flared out, shooting dozens of razor blades in all directions. The unicorn erected a hasty shield before him and his fellow soldiers which, combined with their armors’ enchantments, was enough to stop the blades. Or it would have been. One of the pegasi took to the air in an instinctive defensive maneuver and flew above the shield. He fell to the ground in a heap, pierced by metal shards. The unicorn lieutenant cursed as he fired the paralysis spell. The mare wasn’t standing still, though. She, too, had taken to the air along with the soldier. She dived at the two remaining guards with her hooves held forward. Her wings gave a mighty flap that reversed her flight path, but left the spear zipping forward. The lieutenant dodged the spear as the other guard met what he thought was a headlong charge. The spear grazed the guard’s side. While he was off-balance, the mare twisted her wings. He was caught in a gust of wind that threw him against the wall. His armor absorbed the impact, allowing him the opportunity to bounce back at her. He caught her with a glancing blow to the side of her head. She ducked under him and swirled her wings in opposite directions. He felt his feathers grabbed by separate, conflicting currents. He tried to pull them in, to dive to the floor, but there was no moving fast enough. He cried out as his wings were each wrenched out of their sockets. As the mare kicked his fellow guard out of the air, the unicorn fired off his spell. She raised her wings, drawing up the razor-sliced guard’s body to her with a whirl of wind, where she used it as a makeshift shield. The lieutenant snorted steam and charged at her, horn lowered. She flew low and made a loop around him. She continued in circles, faster and faster, until he was surrounded by a tornado. He gasped for breath as the oxygen was sucked away from him, and his armor glowed as it absorbed blows from high-speed dirt particles. After a moment, the blades that had bounced off his shield cut deep into his body. He glared up at the mare who had cut a path through his troops. She gazed at him with hard, gray eyes, as if sizing him up. With a shake of her head, she picked up the spear and walked away, leaving him to bleed out in the hallway. *** “Father, Father, hear my plea The warrior’s life is not for me I’ve found such love here on the land Of tender grass and warming sand” The singer who played the father had a gigantic moustache that squirmed over his face as if it had a mind of its own. It blew in the breeze made by his powerful voice. “My dearest Pansy! You know I care A life fulfilled you will not find here An earth pony’s home is toil and pain Come and meet Commander Hurricane!” Care leaned towards Celestia’s ear. “Did Private Pansy and Smart Cookie really have a bittersweet love life?” Celestia chuckled. “Most of this story is technically true, but Pansy would be mortified to find out the playwright got his and Cookie’s genders reversed.” Care’s eyebrows shot up. “How did that happen?” Celestia’s wings rubbed against each other. “Years blur facts. History grows old and quiet. Life moves forward, and those who care to look back can never see the whole picture.” Care inclined her head, brushing her turquoise mane behind her shoulder. “Unless you lived it.” Celestia shrugged. “Even I forget things.” Caution stood from his seat as he was tapped on the shoulder. A guard leaned through the curtain of the royal box and whispered into his ear. Caution in turn whispered to Celestia, “There’s somethin’ up. Get ready t’ move.” Celestia gave him a grave nod. She turned towards the stage with dim eyes. “Seems there’s always something.” Care stood and faced the curtain with her horn glowing. “We’ll have a peaceful night one of these days, your Majesty.” “Promises, promises.” Celestia shifted in her chair. “I haven’t had a peaceful night in a thousand years.” Just as Pansy’s singer reached the song’s crescendo, a bloodcurdling screech came from the other side of the curtain. A growing murmur peppered the crowd. Celestia jumped up, her wings flared to their full majestic length. “Stay still, my little ponies!” she shouted. “But be ready to evacuate calmly and quickly!” Care almost snorted at the thought of the opera-goers doing anything but stampede. She squared her hooves as her horn began to spark. “Should I go out and—?” “Stay,” Celestia said. “Maybe Caution will be able to handle it.” The curtain was torn aside. Caution lay on the ground, a nasty gash in the side of his head. The pegasus mare stood tall, her chest heaving, her muscles tight in her legs and back. Her cold gray eyes met Celestia’s sunlit purple. Celestia’s throat made a tiny gurgle. “Hurricane?” The pegasus lunged with the speed of lightning. Her face contorted for the first time that night, taking on the heat of rage. “Thus to all usurpers!” The spear hit Celestia square in the chest. She stared at the wooden shaft leading into her body with a slacked jaw. Her hooves failed her and she tumbled onto her back, her wings splayed. Far too late, Care cast a wall of fire at the attacker, backed by a scream. The pegasus flapped her wings to avoid being fried, but the flame caught the edge of her evening dress. She tore it off with barely a glance, and jumped over the fire. Her hooves and Care’s met in a grapple. Care pushed with her forelegs, but the pegasus’ were far stronger. The unicorn guard felt herself leaning over the edge of the balcony, where a long drop would end in a bone-shattering stop. Her horn flared with a concentrated pillar of heat, which singed several of the pegasus’ hairs black. The attacker jerked back, and Care shoved her with newfound leverage. Care pressed her advantage by following up with a series of quick punches to the pegasus’ face, chest, stomach, anything she could get an opening for. When the mare stumbled, the guard jumped back and charged up a fireball. She launched it with the intent to remove the pegasus mare from existence. The mare beat her wings, making the air sing. A whirlwind ate the fireball and turned it into a cauldron of heat. Care winced away, taking her eyes off her opponent. Big mistake. The pegasus flew through the wind and tackled Care right over the edge. They tumbled towards the seats below, where ponies were already trampling over each other for the exit. Care wrapped her hooves around the other pony’s neck and pulled her close. She twisted herself in the air so that the mare was below her. They landed hard, shattering seats and scattering stragglers. Care rolled to the side as her muscles clenched up, protesting her continued consciousness. She felt blood trickle out of her nose where something had smashed into her. She tried to move her forelegs, but they were unresponsive. The other mare stood up. Her wings hung limp, her right foreleg was clutched tight to her chest, but she stood up. She looked down at Care with a scowl, but the hard look ended with a wince. She hobbled away, joining with the crowd that cared more about running than what they were actually running from. Care got a good look at her cutie mark: A mass of swirling, spiraling clouds, growing darker as they reached the middle. At the very center was an opening, a pale blue spot on her coat the clouds failed to cover. The clouds churned, rolled, and whipped in Care’s swimming vision. She let her head rest against a demolished seat cushion. She looked up at the balcony where, just seconds before, she had been enjoying a quiet evening at the princess’ side. Where Celestia was enjoying one of the few things left to her. She closed her eyes and could hear the paramedics already attending to the princess. The wood shaft of the spear was sawed off, and she was carried away on a specialized stretcher that nopony ever expected to actually use. Care could wait. It was the princess who really needed attention. Minutes later, they came for her. A light shined in her eyes when the medic checked her pupils. They told her to rest quiet as they ushered her through the hallways. Through her hazy, swirling, clouded vision, Care saw the edges of the halls lined with blanketed lumps. Two… three… five… She’d seen that mare’s cutie mark before. Not on a pony, but a map. She was loaded into an emergency carriage. Her head flopped on a limp neck. A nearby paramedic mentioned something about the hospital, about the supply of ambrosia being strained, about how he wasn’t sure there would be enough. Caution was loaded into a separate ambulance, a series of bandages wrapped tight around his head. Care drifted in and out. There was the squeal of a siren, the clomp of hurried hooves, the reassuring whispers of a nurse who looked far out of his element. She next awoke on a hospital bed, covered in tubes and gauze. A golden bag of precious ambrosia dripped into her bloodstream, speeding her cells’ reproduction and mending her damaged body. She would be on her hooves in a week. But for now, she was tired. Tired and angry. She failed the princess, she thought. She failed her solemn duty to defend the pony who was said to never need defense. She failed to protect a pony whose power was greater than any ten, twenty, thirty ponies combined. All that, and she still fell. A moment’s hesitation from Care cost too much to ever be repaid. A stupid mistake. The worst mistake. She’d never repay the cost of her mistake, but she could try. She would track the mare down. She would search high and low. She would travel from the Smoky Mountains to the Badlands. She would do anything and everything to find the attacker. And then Care would end her. The cutie mark rose in her mind as the light in her eyes faded. The swirling clouds with the empty center. A storm. A maelstrom. A hurricane. Now, the mark of a deadmare. *** Princess Luna sat in a hospital waiting room. She stared at the far wall, which held a tacky striped paper coating in lieu of paint. It was infinitely uninteresting, but it was far better to focus on that than… She shuddered from horn to tail. A damp trail ran down her cheek as drops pattered on the floor. She had cried before, only a few minutes before. And a few minutes before that. And before that. And before that. She did not know how long it had been since they had called her from the Dream's Keep, the dream-watching tower. Hours, most likely. She had not lowered the moon, so it had literally been less than a day. It would remain less than a day until she guided it along its prescribed path. She did not wish to do so until Celestia was ready to raise the sun. The tears subsided again, and she dried her face. She brought her wings around to embrace her body, covering it like a blanket. Her head dipped low. She blinked the last of the water from her eyes and regarded her cutie mark. It was a crescent moon, the same as it had been since the day she discovered it. Ancient days long past, much like the ponies she had shared them with. “What did we promise, dear sister?” she asked. “What did we promise together so long ago?” She shifted her gaze to the black patch of hair that surrounded her cutie mark on both sides, extending to cover the rest of her rump. “Why did we make such a terrible promise?” “Luna!” a welcome voice said. “Luna! We came as quick as we could!” Twilight Sparkle ran into the waiting room, skidding on the smooth floor. Spike came behind her and grabbed her tail to keep her from tumbling. Twilight stood still, taking in deep breaths. Spike spoke for the both of them. “Is she alright?” Luna kept her face still. She spoke in a low, deliberate voice. “No. She is not.” Twilight and Spike stood together, holding each other. They had both grown over the years. Twilight was slightly shorter than Cadenza, and Spike a bit shorter than that when on his hind legs. Spike released Twilight and crawled towards Luna. “What happened? Where is she?” “They are operating on her, Spike.” Luna placed a hoof on his bowed head. “They did not let me see her. All we can do is wait and pray.” She sighed at the offensively boring wallpaper. “And decide what shall become of the kingdom during her recovery.” Twilight rubbed the end of her snout. She blinked reddened eyes. “We need to find the assassin and stop them.” “Indeed,” Luna said, “but most of the witnesses are either dead or severely injured. Everypony else got caught up in the stampede when the attack happened.” Twilight’s feathers ruffled. “So we wait.” Luna gave a humorless laugh. “I am not fond of it either, Twilight. Every once in a while, there is nothing we can do.” Twilight and Luna sat beside each other, while Spike made slow laps around the room. His hefty frame shook periodically as his long tail waved behind him. He lifted his head with a start. “I’m getting something to drink. Can I get you anything?” Luna shook her head, but Twilight rubbed her forehead. “Coffee, please, Spike.” Spike scurried up to the coffee maker on all fours, then lifted himself onto his hind legs. He grasped the cups and ambled back to Twilight. Just as he reached her, a pony dressed in a white coat walked into the room. “Your Majesty?” he said to Luna. As she and Twilight stood, he bowed. “Your Highness.” “Dr. Fine,” Luna said, “you bring news.” “Your Majesty…” Doctor Hefty Fine cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, I do. Princess Celestia is alive.” Luna’s neck stiffened. “As she was when she arrived. Did you bring any new news?” The doctor took a step back as Luna loomed over him. Twilight placed a soft wing on her back, and the princess relaxed. “Please continue,” Luna said. “You may wish to sit down,” the doctor began. “Speak.” Luna brushed Twilight’s wing away. “Now.” “She is alive, but she is not stable.” Dr. Fine’s eyes flicked to Spike, then back at Luna. “We will have doctors with her twenty-four seven, I promise. We are doing everything we can to help her.” “As you should.” Luna closed her eyes and turned away. “How bad is the damage?” “It’s impossible, your Majesty,” Dr. Fine said, “but… her heart has been destroyed.” Twilight, Luna, and Spike shouted simultaneously. “What?” “She is alive, I assure you!” Dr. Fine held up his hooves. “The spear that pierced her chest went through her heart, tearing it into pieces. She should by all rights have been dead on arrival.” He shrugged. “Her brain activity is weak but consistent. She is breathing with assistance from an oxygen pump. There is no way this should be possible, but it is. There is something keeping her alive that has nothing to do with what we’ve done here. We removed the spearhead, but now all we can do is help the flesh heal.” The doctor bit his lip. “I was hoping you could give us a clue as to exactly what is going on.” Twilight licked her lips. “Is there something about alicorn anatomy you guys haven’t told me?” Luna opened her mouth, but stopped short of speaking. She took two breaths before answering. “No, Dr. Fine, I do not know what happened. Please carry on as you were and inform us of any changes in my sister.” Dr. Fine bowed to the princesses, nodded at Spike, and hurried for the exit. “Wait,” Spike said. “Can we see her?” The doctor tugged his coat. “I suppose. A short visit. Follow me.” Twilight Sparkle guzzled her coffee as she walked. “I’m thankful she’s alive, but this is way too weird. What in the wide world happened?” Luna marched with rigid legs, her wings half-extended. Her horn sparkled with blue magic, and a tiny voice spoke directly into Twilight’s ear. “Twilight, there was a time when alicorns were impossible.” Twilight looked over the rim of her mug. She let it settle in a waste basket once it was empty. Her horn glowed purple as she replied with the same privacy spell. “And?” “We were a legend. A myth. A fantastical prophesy made by downtrodden ponies living in a world that wanted to kill them.” Luna shivered. “And when we came, we were a miracle.” They walked down a staircase and through a set of heavy doors. Luna brushed her star-sparkled mane down the side of her face. “We were mysteries then, and we are no less mysteries now.” Twilight hunched her shoulders. “I’m getting sick of all the mystery around here.” “I as well.” Luna moved to the side as an orderly pushed an empty stretcher back the way they came. “It is said to be the honor of kings to reveal a matter, though.” Twilight barked a laugh. She covered her mouth when the doctor shushed her. “That’s pretty rich,” she continued quietly. The edges of her eyes grew tight. “I guess… I like mysteries when they don’t involve friends.” They stopped outside a gray door. “There’s no pretending otherwise,” Luna said. She opened the door and stepped inside. Celestia lay on an oversized bed. Her mouth was covered by a mask, with a tube leading up to it. She was covered with white blankets. Her coat was matted, and her skin held a worrisome pallor. A pulse monitor was hooked to the side of the bed, showing an erratic line. “No heart, but a pulse,” Dr. Fine said. “It’s unprecedented.” Noticing that neither of the princesses were paying any attention to him, the doctor took his leave. “Ten minutes.” Spike came up to the side of the bed. He rested his claw-tips on the mattress. “H-hay, Princess. It’s Spike. I brought Twilight. We’re both… We’re glad to see you’re safe.” Luna stared at her sister. She rubbed the damp tracks on her cheeks. “I never thought… it would be like this.” Twilight couldn’t breathe. The walls closed in, growing tighter and tighter until there was nothing but she and Celestia. She wobbled. Spike jumped up and carefully laid his hands on her shoulders. “Twilight! Easy. Just take in deep breaths, okay? Deep breaths. She’ll be alright. I promise.” One of his tears dropped onto Twilight’s hoof and sizzled. She yelped and pulled it back. Spike flinched back, keeping his face away from her. Her eyes focused on Spike. She wheezed. “I c-can’t—” She lunged forward, wrapping her forelegs and wings around him. He held the sobbing princess close, careful not to burn her with his tears. Luna stood over her sister. She looked her up and down, running a gentle spell across the surface of her body. She found no enchantments, ill-willed or benevolent. Just the potions and elixirs administered by the doctors. She leaned down and kissed Celestia on the forehead. “Dearest sister… what are we?”