Hold Your Color

by Quillery

Author Appeal

Dash raced through the skies of Canterlot with Ditzy close behind. They followed the royal guard as he led them towards the towers of the Cloud Quarter; a section of the city built at cloud height over the Canterlot Cliffs to accommodate the pegasus population.

Dash frowned, as she saw, scattered over the district, several squadrons of pegasus soldiers were about, flying in formation as far as the eye could see.

“Celestia wasn’t screwing around when she sent out her seekers, wasn’t she?” Dash said.

“Nearly ninety percent of the Canterlot Seekers are in the field to find the gryphon, as per Celestia’s urgence," the guard said. "The rest are out of the city limits, making sure she doesn’t slip out.”

“I don’t think we’re expecting her to run. I think Twi’s right, I don’t think she’s the problem here.”

“If that were the case, Dash, then why is she running from the guards?” Ditzy said. “If she really was trying to help, she’d have turned herself in so we could get out questions out of the way.”

Dash glared at her. “Would you stick around when the entire seeker brigade is out looking for you? I know I’d probably have better things to do than sit around and get arrested for something I didn’t do.”

Ditzy rolled her eyes and sighed. She directed her attention to the guard. “Where are Khroma and Aurora? They would be close to her by now.”

“You mean the Stalliongrad operatives? They were near the warehouses down on the cliff sides near the airship dock the last we saw them.”

“Then that’s where we’re going.” Ditzy tilted over and banked down, breaking away from Dash and the guard.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Dash spun in the air and followed Ditzy. She glanced back at the guard. “You’d better get some ponies to follow us, I have a feeling she’s right.”

The guard paused a moment, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged, nodded, and continued on his way towards the other guards ponies above the city.

Dash turned back and pumped her wings to catch up with Ditzy. Dash recalled, only days ago, where she would have given Ditzy a wide berth when flying anywhere near her in the air. Now, Ditzy was the one leaving her in the dust, flying with skill and speed that could very well have rivaled her own in a fair race.

Dash caught up and flew aside Ditzy as they descended towards the city cliffs. “Do you really think they found Edweena?”

“Aurora was the best tracker in the Prizraks before we retired. Your dad learned a lot from her as they grew up and trained together.”

“Was my dad a Prizrak too?”

Ditzy shook her head. “No. His commitment to guarding the Prism forbade him from joining them. He had to have his attention focused on protecting it. Your great grandfather and grandfather trained him specially. Aurora just showed him a few tricks.”

Dash sighed. “I can’t believe there’s so much I don't know about my own family. How could my dad just lie to me for over twenty years?”

Ditzy didn’t answer. She increased her speed as they approached the ground. Dash grumbled and scanned the area below. Low, stubby buildings dressed the sides of the cliffs. Small airships, laden with cargo hovered near the edge, lashed by thick ropes. Piles of wooden crates and metal containers were spread all over the area as they were stacked and moved by the dozen or so workers that moved in between the buildings.

Ditzy slowed to a hover over the warehouses and looked around. The air was still, and as far as Dash could see, there were no disturbances. The workers below didn’t even seem to notice their presence, continuing their work unabated.

Dash stared at the back of Ditzy’s head as she kept searching. They both hovered in silence, waiting.

Ditzy sighed and faced Dash with a strained frown. “Look, im not blood to you, but I might as well be considering how close I am to your father and your aunt. Your dad wasn’t trying to lie to you. He was trying to protect you. All of this prism business brought a heavy burden on your family, and the last thing he wanted was to put it on you. He wanted you to be free to live your own life. Surely you can appreciate that.”

Dash looked away. “I guess. Still, it would have been nice to know that he trusted me enough to tell me about it at least. Being blindsided isn’t a great way to bond as father and daughter.”

Ditzy’s face softened. There was a long, calming look of fondness in her eyes, when something caught her attention. She smirked and pointed at something behind Dash. “Well, when we catch that gryphon, I’m sure you’ll have all the time in the world to bond with him at your leisure.”

Dash spun around. In the distance, was a small winged shape diving through the buildings at the far end of the cliff. It was larger than an average pegasus, Dash noted, even from this distance. A pair of smaller shapes followed close behind, gaining with each passing moment.

Dash grit her teeth and pumped her wings. Ditzy shouted something, but Dash was already too far to hear it.

Ditzy was right. The sooner she talked to Edweena, the sooner she might get some answers, and the sooner she should just go home and go back to her normal life with Twilight. And what better way to get answers than from an old friend who you just saved you from the Stalliongrad Secret Service?

Dash flew low through the buildings, staying out of sight from anypony above her. She weaved through the maze of boxes to keep Ditzy from following her. She was a good flyer, but there was no way Dash would let a pony she knew until now as the village clutz get the best of her, phony persona or not.

Dash kept an eye on the distant chase through the gaps. It was drawing closer, as the shapes of her father and aunt grew more distinct against the mountains. Dash had to hoof it to Edweena. While she knew her dad was a good flyer, and her aunt had to have been one by extension of her… interesting past, Edweena was keeping her lead quite well.

Dash had to get ahead of her, enough to have just a second with Edweena before anypony else interfered. She pushed her wings to their limit, slicing through the narrow alleys with practiced precision.

She came to an open space that curved along the mountainside, and Edweena was closing in. Dash propped herself against a building, and peeked her head out and watched.

Sure enough, the gryphon chose to drop under the rooftops in the open space, trying to get out of sight from her pursuers. Dash looked behind her, and her dad and aunt were slowing down. It was now or never.

She poked her head out and waved. “Edweena! Over here!”

Edweena looked over, and her eyes widened. She stretched out her wings to brake, and came to a halt in the air. She stared at Dash wordlessly, and then glanced behind her. Khroma and Aurora were plodding about in the air, slowly regaining their ground. It wouldn’t be long until they found her again, and both Dash and Edweena knew that.

Edweena spared little time in flying over to Dash, and hid with her against the same wall. Dash nodded at her, and put a hoof to her mouth, gesturing to a nearby alley.

The gryphon agreed wordlessly, and they both slunk off into the warehouses, keeping away from the open air. Dash spotted an open storage room, and beckoned Edweena to follow her inside. Once they were past the door, Dash looked outside one last time to ensure they weren’t followed, and then shut the door.

She turned to Edweena. She sat on the floor against the nearby wall, panting. Her feathers looked weathered and dirty, and she held one arm tightly to her side. Edweena lifted her head and looked at Dash with a curious look. “Thank you, Miss Dash. It’s good to see you again.”

Dash smiled. “Well, I don’t leave my friends hanging, and anyone who sends me an advanced copy of the next Daring Do book is a friend to me.”

Edweena raised an eyebrow. “I sent you a copy of my next book?”

Dash nodded. “Well, you gave it to Twilight, she brought it over to me. We already read most of it together.”

“Oh, I see. She never mentioned anything of sharing it with anyone. I intended her to read it through and—” Edweena paused and looked away.

“Look through it and what?” Dash asked. She drew closer to the laying gryphon, eyes narrowing.

“It isn’t my place to say. I’m already in enough trouble with those Stalliongrad insurgents. They think I’ve stolen something from them, and considering the things I’ve researched of them, I’d rather not find out how they actually treat their prisoners for questioning.”

“The Celestial Prism?”

Edweena blinked. “O-of course not!” Her eyes darted. “That’s just an artifact I conceived for the book, nothing more. They must think I’ve taken something else.”

Dash frowned. “My dad isn’t usually wrong about what ponies take, Edweena.”

Edweena’s mouth fell open. “Your… No, it can’t be…”

Her eyes scanned Dash, and for the first time, she took a long look at her head. “Your mane… You’re the Prism’s host?”

Dash nodded slowly. “And you seem to know way too much about it.”

Edweena placed a claw on the floor and pushed away from Dash.

Dash shook her head and lifted a hoof. “Look, Edweena. He may be my dad, but I don’t have any interest in hurting you. We’re friends, and I just want your take on what’s going on.” Dash kneeled to the ground. “Please, tell me what you know. A lot of ponies I care about are in danger because of this, and I need to get to the bottom of it before its too late.”

Edweena pressed herself against the wall, steeling herself with a slow breath. “I’d be a fool to distrust the bearer of Loyalty now wouldn’t I?”

Dash managed a soft smile.

Edweena exhaled. “Well, I personally don’t know much about the Prism. Not exactly anyways. A majority of my information comes from my friend. You remember? The one Daring Do is based off of?”

“Your archeologist friend? Yeah, I remember you mentioning her.”

Edweena sighed. “She told me she retired. I had plenty of material left over for a few more novels, then I was most likely going to end the series and move on to something else.”

“Aww, really?” Dash pouted.

Edweena frowned. “You can’t possibly think it was going to go on forever, did you? And we have more important things to worry about than a book series.”

Dash chuckled weakly. “Aheh, yeah. Sorry.”

Edweena rolled her eyes. “Anyways. I was happy she retired. Her life was plenty dangerous for a lifetime and then some, but then she tells me she was offered a job some months ago, to search for one last artifact.”

“The Prism.”

“As I eventually found out, yes. She never disclosed any information about the interested party, but she sent me details about the investigation as she always did.”

Her mood darkened. “But then, her messages started coming with encryptions. Little hidden messages we used to communicate with each other when in less than favorable company. She was worried about her benefactor’s intentions for the Prism. And then, the messages suddenly stopped, less than a month ago. I tried searching her usual haunts, but she was nowhere to be found. Her old apartment had been ransacked.”

She turned her head to Dash. “That is when I knew I needed help. As far as I could tell, her search led her to Equestria, so I looked up the one friend who was smart enough and connected to help.”

“Twilight.”

Edweena nodded. “I had spoken with Miss Sparkle some time after we first met back in Antlerdam through letters. When I met her in Canterlot a few days ago, I kept turning the conversation to the theme of puzzles and hidden notes, and purposely left her a modified copy of my latest book. Considering her interest in the series, I felt she would read the book overnight, and spot all the clues I had left her.”

“But why? Why not just tell her straight up that something was wrong? That sounds like a Bat-Mare gambit if I’ve ever heard one.”

Edweena chuckled. “Because I thought I was being followed. And it turns out I was right.” Her frown deepened. “I grew up in one of the more dangerous villages of Northern Germane, Miss Dash. You don’t survive to adolescence by making friends, you survive by trusting no one, and fighting anyone that tries to step over you to get out. Luckily, I managed just that, and gained an unhealthy paranoia to go along with it.” She shuddered. “I thought I was just being shadowed, but I didn’t think I’d actually be followed by actual shadows!”

“Wait, what?”

“I didn’t want to believe it either. Shadowy ponies with wings, black as night and fast as nightmares, chasing after me in the middle of the day! I haven’t slept well in days, and now I have half the Equestrian Royal guard and two Stalliongrad Prizraks searching after me as well.” Edweena let out a labored breath. “Daring Do was the adventurer, not me! I’m not cut out for all this running.”

Dash chuckled. She leaned against the wall and faced the ceiling, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “I’m sure my dad or Ditzy will find us soon. Let’s just enjoy the breather.”

She opened her eyes again, and saw a pair of dark, yellow eyes looking down at her from a darkened corner of the ceiling. A set of sharp teeth appeared from the shadows, as a small, winged shape started to ooze into view.

Dash gulped, and reached out for Edweena. She tapped the ground as she missed the first few times, but when she found Edweena’s arm, she pulled it close.

“Ow!” she said. “What was that for?”

“Because we need to start running again. Now.”

Edweena frowned and looked up. “Wh—oh Tartarus…”

The shadow lunged, beating its wings into a dive. Dash felt her body lurch forward away from the wall as a pointed claw dug into her back and hoisted her up. The shadow landed on its head, and lay still on the ground, stunned.

Dash spun around and faced the shadow creature, as it recovered and got back to its hooves.

“One of your friends?” Dash breathed.

“Might as well be,” Edweena said. “They look the bloody same. Though I recall there being—”

A guttural snarl came from behind them, They spun around and saw a second monster walking slowly towards them, its eyes narrowed dangerously. A twin stood just beside it, lashing a black tongue behind its own razor sharp teeth. Dash’s ears twitched, and turned towards a fourth and fifth monster trying to flank them from the sides.

“—more of them.”

Dash groaned. “I’d really like my dad to find us now.”

Edweena managed a weak chuckle. “Now, that doesn’t sound like any fun. How often does one get a chance to fight side by side with an Element Bearer?”

Dash smirked. “Hey, if you’re down, I’m down. But, we’re running out of time, and it’s only five on two. That doesn’t sound very fair for them, does it?”

Edweena heaved herself onto her hind legs and held out her claws. “Fair? I’m from Germane, my dear. Fair is for pony folk.”

Dash laughed and grit her teeth. She set her back against Edweena’s as the shadow monsters began to circle them, gnashing and growling. Dash kept her eyes on each one as they paced around her. She felt Edweena’s arms flexing against her as she moved her paws in tandem with their circling foes.

A shriek signaled the first strike, as one of the shadows took initiative and leapt at Dash. Her eyes narrowed as she followed its flight. Time seemed to slow for an instant as she knelt down, waiting for the perfect moment.

The monster flew true, baring its teeth and beating its wings. It approached quickly, but Dash planted her hooves down, and shoved against the ground, headbutting the freak in the chin. It wailed as it bit down on its own tongue and was sent flying past its companions.

The two remaining shadow monsters in front of Dash watched their friend sail past, and when it landed in a heap behind them, turned back. They snarled and approached Dash together.

“Now it’s getting interesting,” Dash said. “C’mon! Show me what you got!”

Edweena shrugged away from Dash as she shrieked and lashed her claws with predatory ferocity. Her own assailants charged against her, and met talon and beak with painful recourse. They crashed into something large and wooden as far as Dash could tell, and Edweena stepped away to finish them off.

Dash eyed the two that approached her from the front. They came at two different angles, leaving Dash with less room to work, not that she needed it. She grinned as she lurched forward. The two shadows reacted, leaping at her simultaneously.

Dash lowered her legs and slid low, as her attackers almost flew right over top of her. When they were right above her, she dug a hoof into the ground and lifted her wings high. She ground to a halt and spun around on the spot. She slapped her wings together, and brought the two monsters to crash into each other in mid air, and topple on to the ground in a heap.

She stood up and admired her work. Her attackers were rolling on the floor, barely moving and piled together. Edweena’s were leaking a dark, porous muck from several cuts that covered their bodies. She stood tall, brandishing her talons as she rubbed them clean.

“Not the usual fare I beat my talons against,” she said. “But suitable practice. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a good fight.”

Dash shook her head. “Are you sure you’re not the adventurous one?”

Edweena grinned. “It’s easier to narrate the action if you know how to live it.”

“I guess.”

Edweena sighed a breath of relief, and rubbed her arm, wincing slightly. “It would have been easier without this previous injury. Your father is rather rough with his interrogation. And that mare with him… your mother?”

Dash chuckled. “My aunt. It might be hard to believe, but she’s probably the meaner one.”

Someone cleared their throat behind them. “Now, Prizma. Can you say nothing kind of me?”

Dash felt her chest tighten and her heart plummet into a tailspin in her gut. She slowly turned around, finding herself staring into Aurora’s narrowed gaze. Her dad, along with Ditzy, was standing beside her in the opened doorway of the warehouse, staring at Edweena.

“Uh, hey a-auntie. Dad.” She pointed at Edweena. “This is my friend Edweena, the author of that book.”

Khroma’s eyes narrowed. “You have a lot of explaining to do, gryphon.”

He took a step forward towards her, but Dash stepped in between them. “Whoa. Stop right there, Dad. I don’t know what kind of Stalliongrad interrogation you’re planning, but you aren’t laying another hoof on her.”

Khroma shot a level glare at her. “She plays with knowledge she has no right knowing. She flaunts an ancient secret my family has lived and died for like it is a plaything for others’ amusement. I will not have that sacrifice be ridiculed while I draw breath.”

Dash matched her father’s stare. “And I won’t let you hurt my friend while I draw breath, Dad. So back off. I don’t care what fancy tricks auntie and grandpapa taught you, I’ll trade hooves with you before I let you touch her.”

Khroma’s gaze smoldered, but Dash didn’t budge an inch. Edweena stepped forward, holding her claws up. “I yield, I yield.” She glanced at Dash with a smile. “I appreciate the effort, Miss Dash, but there will be no need for bloodshed between blood on my account.” She turned back to Khroma. “There will be no need for an interrogation. This ‘book’ you are so concerned with is but an idea that has yet to become a reality. Only one copy exists, and it should still remain in the possession of Twilight Sparkle, does it not?”

Khroma blinked. “And you expect me to believe you?”

“Considering I know the one pony who may actually know where the Prism is now, its your best option.”

“Wait,” Dash said. “You do?”

“Of course. My friend, remember? The one who found its original hiding place. I believe she’s still in Canterlot, held by whatever sent those apparitions after me.”

“What apparitions?” Aurora said.

Dash pointed into the warehouse. “The ones right—” Once she turned, she saw that the shadowy monsters were gone. The three she had stacked herself, as well as the two Edweena cut to ribbons.The only sign that they have been there at all was a trail of dark, oozing stains that trailed from where they were to a nearby door.

“We gotta go after them!” Dash spun on her hooves and headed for the door, when she heard more steps following after her.

“Wait, dear!” Khroma shouted. “We don’t know what—”

The ground began to shake as the warehouse shelves began to rattle. A bloodcurdling roar erupted from outside the building, and the sound of screaming and panic soon followed. Twisting steel and shattering rock rumbled all around as the earth quaked in short, powerful bursts.

Dash stared at the door, frozen, as her mind reeled at what might lay on the other side. Edweena appeared at her side and placed a claw on the handle. “So much for an easy fight.” She turned to Khroma. “If you want answers, you best get out there and show me what a Prizrak can do…”