• Published 12th Oct 2014
  • 3,852 Views, 518 Comments

DayBreak - MyHobby



After an attempt is made on Celestia's life, Twilight Sparkle must assemble a team to track down the assassin and bring her to justice. Danger awaits as they delve into the origins of both the attacker and alicorns.

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Nostalgia

Twilight Velvet gave Care a double-take, her single curl bounding from one shoulder to the other. “You saw who? Are you sure?”

They stood on the steps of the castle, outside the bulk of the ponies flooding the streets. Time Turner’s yelp of surprise was muffled by his colorful scarf, while Blankety just seemed to shrink in on himself. Daring Do surveyed the crowd with a decidedly sharp-edged glare.

Care blushed and steeled herself for a rushed defense. “No, I can’t really be sure. She was wearing a cloak that obscured most of her body, but the coat and tail were the right color, and her cutie mark was nearly spot-on. I know it’s not much, but the sheer possibility that she’s here—”

“She could be anywhere.” Twilight Velvet rolled a hoof, gesturing at all of Ponyville. “In any town, in any city. Why would she be here? What does she have to gain?”

Care frowned. She ran her tongue against the back of her teeth. “I guess that’s what we need to find out.”

Velvet nodded. “Good answer.” She motioned the four of them closer, bringing them into a tight huddle. “Real or not, I’d rather look and not find her than find her where I wasn’t looking. Yearling, Blank, Turner, you guys have stuff to get ready for tomorrow. We’re seeing Luna first thing. Carrot and I’ll make out rounds around town; see if we don’t see anything suspicious. We should be back before the trick-or-treaters head home for the night.”

Time pulled his scarf from his muzzle. “And if you do manage to find the mare?”

“Then keep your ear to the ground and follow the screams.” Velvet pointed an ear towards town hall. “I’ll let the mayor know what we’re doing. Maybe she’ll deputize a brute squad and help with the search.” She tapped a hoof against Care’s chest. “Get suited up.”

“Huh?” Care said. “With what?”

“Your Nightmare Night costume.” Twilight Velvet smirked. “We’ll stick out like sore thumbs if we go plainclothes. Or nude. Are we all clear?”

A chorus of affirmatives answered her. The bell tower rang out the third hour as they entered the castle, headed their separate ways.

Care found herself in one of the many, many guest rooms scattered around the castle. It wasn’t so much decorated as it was occupied by trappings. A mirror was tacked to the wall with glue. A bed that only barely fit the castle’s motif sat beneath a stained-glass window with a metal hinge. She hung her coat in the closet, which had been dug out of the crystal on the wall. Beside it sat the costume she’d worn to the Nightmare Night Masquerade in Canterlot: The outfit of Radiance from the Power Ponies.

She sighed as she slid the soft, stretchy fabric over her hind legs. Her coat wasn’t anywhere near Radiance’s pale yellow, but the purple uniform didn’t seem to clash too much. A temporary dye would have fixed it if she’d had the time.

Her horn glowed to bring the rear of the costume over her rump. She slid her tail through before sitting on the bed to let her forelegs do the rest. The movement brought the closet into sight, as well as the box sitting in one corner. A cover poked out of the opening with the words “Power Ponies” scrawled across the top.

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Not a trick, not a dream, not an imaginary tale! In this issue the Power Ponies face their darkest hour in the snaking tendrils of the maniacal Mane-iac!”

A wheeze of breath left her chest. She covered her shoulders and zipped the jumpsuit up to her neck. Radiance’s enchanted bracelets clicked into place over her hooves. She looked into the mirror and saw strong muscles, a bright horn, and a snappy costume; all the hallmarks of a superhero.

But she hadn’t saved Celestia.

She hadn’t stopped the villain.

Not yet.

“The last thing I need is a hero complex,” she mumbled to herself as she secured the glistening, crystal-laden mask over her eyes. “If only life were more like the old comic books. Just a little simpler.”

She pushed the door open and almost ran smack-dab into Twilight Velvet. The older unicorn was decked out in a long coat, wearing a deerstalker cap, and had a bubble pipe clenched between her teeth.

Care furrowed her brow. “Fetlock Hooves?”

“What can I say? I relate to a guy who notices every little detail.” Velvet swished her coat and set out at a canter. “Come on. I wanna get a move on before they start giving tours.”

“Tours?” Care hurried to catch up, then matched pace beside Velvet. “Of the castle?”

“Sure. It’s a castle; it’s a holiday.” Velvet pulled the brim of her hat low over her forehead. “Which is why I wanna be especially thorough around the castle. I don’t want any wannabe assassins sneaking into my daughter’s home.”

“I think she’s smarter than that.” Care stepped into one of the castle’s magic-powered elevators and pushed the button for the ground floor. “She’ll use the celebration as a distraction—again—but not to sneak in a tour of the grounds. If the castle is her target and if she’s even here.”

Velvet steadied herself against the elevator’s downward motion. “You doubt you actually saw her?”

“Of course I do.” Care tapped the shiny purple bracelets together. “Unless you know a princess who’s been holed up in Ponyville, I can’t think of a single reason she’s wanna be here. Unless she’s hiding out, and if so, why here? It’s not so big that it would be easy to go unnoticed. There must be something we haven’t figured out, something she wants more than just tracking down princesses to murder.”

Velvet took a sharp breath in, which brought soapy water into her mouth. She coughed it up, holding the pipe away from her head with a flick of her horn. She clenched the tip in her jaw and blew a frustrated scattering of bubbles. “You’re an expert on how Hurricane thinks?”

“Probably not…” Care furrowed her brow. “But out of all of us, you and I are the only ones who’ve fought her. You learn things about a pony when you’re trading blows.”

“Chief of which is ‘Dang, they hit hard.’” Velvet chuckled briefly. “When did you fight her? I thought she never showed up to the masquerade.”

Care lowered her eyebrows. The room jolted as the elevator reached the ground floor with a ding. “When she attacked Celestia.”

Velvet walked through the sliding doors, nodding her head in thought. “So what did you learn then?”

“That she is determined. She is dead-set on achieving her goals, whatever they are. She doesn’t go to the right or left, but always charges head-on.” Care glanced to the side as they passed the throne room, where the seven seats encircled a glowing, magical map table. “She’s not here just to hide. She’s here for a purpose.”

“Alright.” Twilight Velvet blew a large, long bubble that hovered upwards to pop against the ceiling, where it let out a happy little plink. “I agree. Now, how do we use it against her?”

The towering double-doors of the castle’s front entrance loomed into view. Spike and Night Light stood at the base, each wearing costumes of their own. They carried an enormous candy bowl between them, which teetered back and forth.

“She probably… probably isn’t very good with lateral thinking…” Care scratched the base of her horn. “Or has a case of two-dimensional thinking. Gets tunnel vision, maybe? Not a great trait for a pegasus commander.”

“I suspect that’s why she always surrounded herself with good lieutenants like Pansy.” Velvet held her forelegs out to the stallion and the dragon. “Alright, you two. Give me a hug before we make our rounds!”

Spike beat Night Light by one long stride. He gently slid his arms around Velvet’s shoulders and placed a gentle kiss on the side of her head. “What’re you looking for, Mom? Just enjoying Nightmare Night?”

“Afraid not, Spike.” She ruffled his filmy ears. “We’ve got a lead to follow. We should be back before the night is over, so save us some supper.”

Night Light gave her a quick squeeze and a tender smooch. “We’ll keep the light on for you. Be safe.”

“That’s no fun at all.” Velvet turned to the doors and winked. “See you later.”

“See yah,” Spike said. “By the way, Care, the Radiance costume is amazing!”

“Thanks!” Care flicked her mane and got a closer look at him. “Yours is… um…”

A tube of cardboard had been wrapped around his torso, onto which was glued gemstones of every conceivable color and shape. Two other tubes stuck out from his shoulders, similarly decorated. Finally, a cone sat atop his head, with a tiny stained-glass window in the front, made from paper mache. “You like it? It’s not quite as cool as the castle itself, but I think it’s recognizable. And the best part is that I get to eat it tomorrow.”

“It’s impressive.” She nodded as Velvet covered her mouth, stifling a snort. “Very, very impressive.”

***

“Come along, honey,” the unicorn mare said. “We’re falling behind.”

Zephyr pulled himself away from the awe-inspiring display of the Ponyville castle’s throne room. Crystal thrones, grown rather than carved, seated around a map that contained a power nopony in Equestria could adequately explain, save that it was intrinsically tied to the Elements of Harmony. It had grown quiet in recent years. Many suspected it was due to a period of unprecedented peace, but others worried that the Elements were growing weaker.

If that was so, Zephyr thought, another power needed to take their place. He followed the mare, a fellow security guard in Dulcimer’s employ—and more importantly, a fellow member of their initiative. She wore a simple costume with nylon butterfly wings and an antenna-bedecked headband.

It was still a better costume than his cheap alligator-print pajamas. It clashed rather spectacularly with his butter-yellow coat. The foam-filled tail was a nice touch.

“Coming, dearest heart,” he said, slathering as much tender, loving care into his voice as he could. “Just… um… admiring the adornments.”

The mare hooked his foreleg with hers, jerking him towards the rest of the tour group. “Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you, shnookie nookums?

“I was never a subtle stallion,” he coughed.

Further comments were interrupted by a gaggle of overexcited foals rushing past them. “Slow down!” a young mare yelped. “Pumpkin, Lackadaisy— Oh, for… Fillyscouts form up!”

Zephyr smiled as he watched the girls form up in a single-file line. They looked to the mare who had spoken with innocent, beaming eyes. The mare looked back with careful, suspicious eyes.

A curly-maned mare dressed as a candy-cane nudged the first mare in the side. “Not tho eathy when there’th ten of them, ith it, Dinky?”

Dinky tugged at the black material of her jumpsuit—Zephyr had heard her call it a “spymare catsuit”—which was stretched taut over her skinny frame. “Come on, girls. It’s very nice of the tour guide to agree to show us all the castle, so if you could all just—”

“Can we see the treasure room?” an orange unicorn filly said. “All castles have a treasure room, right?”

“Wouldn’t mind getting a look at that myself,” Zephyr’s partner whispered.

“As far as I know,” the longsuffering tour guide said in a chipper voice, “Ponyville’s castle has no dedicated treasure room yet. However, I’m sure that Princess Twilight is even now working on accumulating enough important artifacts to justify one.”

“Isn’t the princess in a coma?” one pegasus filly piped up. “I heard she got beat up!”

“My daddy says she’s actually dead and they’re just covering it up!”

“My grandpa says it’s all part of a conspiracy to make people like the princesses more.”

“My mommy says the aliens kidnapped her.”

The tour guide’s ears drooped. Her mouth moved, but words failed her completely. She looked to Dinky and the curly-maned mare with desperation in her eyes as the fillies continued to all but shout out their opinions.

“You know,” Zephyr said loudly, “I wonder, if we get done with the tour sooner, will we have more time to trick-or-treat?”

The fillies squealed at once with this astonishing revelation. The tour guide gathered herself and gave Zephyr a thankful smile, which he returned with a nod. She led them down the hallway, towards whatever corner of the castle was next on the agenda.

“I thought you weren’t subtle,” the mare at his side said.

“I wouldn’t call that subtle,” he replied, “just perceptive.”

She flicked her eyes to the side as they rounded a corner. A window, made from stained glass rather than clear crystal, was embedded in the wall to give the hall more natural lighting. “Facing away from the town. Ground-level. Simple latch. Looks good?”

“Yeah.” He scrunched his muzzle. “Wouldn’t mind something a little higher… nearer the library…” He waved a wing at the tour guide. “Excuse me, ma’am, but will we be able to see the library on tonight’s tour? I hear Princess Twilight has an impressive collection.”

Bored groans from the Fillyscouts turned to cheers when the guide answered. “No. I’m afraid the levels above the fifth floor have been closed for renovations. Rest assured, the ballroom, the princess’ bedroom, and the laboratory are exquisite sights.”

“Renovations, eh?” Zephyr gave the ceiling a skeptical twitch of his ear. “Thanks anyway, ma’am.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood up when his partner grasped his collar in a shimmering magic glow. She yanked him down to her level and pressed her lips against his. The peanut gallery provided by the Fillyscouts erupted into a series of “Aw”s and “Blech”s, while the tour guide let out a sigh of defeat. Zephyr pulled away from the kiss and gave his partner a puzzled look. She smirked.

When the attention had returned to the tour, he muttered into her ear. “I understand maintaining authenticity, but what in the heck was that?

“Look at the window, lunkhead,” she hissed. “It’s called a distraction.”

He peered over his shoulder. While her magic had been visibly tugging on his costume, it had concealed the finer detail work she’d been doing on the latch. The window hung a hair open, unnoticeably unless one was looking for it. Ready for a simple push from outside to work its mundane magic.

“Help me look for other spots.” She watched his face swing between disgust and confusion. She let out a harsh laugh. “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it, sugarlump.”

Zephyr hid a scowl from view, turning his head to map out as much of the castle as he could in his head. “Actually, I can’t say I enjoy much of any of this.”

***

The dynamic duo of Radiance and Fetlock Hooves had run out of places to search. Every business had been visited, every back alley scoured, and every pony examined. Short of invading homes, they were out of luck.

The sun came down, and the search reached its end. Twilight Velvet tapped a little more liquid soap into her pipe. “That went well.”

“Well?” Care snorted. “Your definition of ‘well’ is a little different from mine.”

“‘Well’ as in ‘nobody died or got seriously hurt.’” Velvet gave a nod to Applejack from across the street. The mayor tipped her hat and headed back to the office. “In my experience, encounters with Hurricane don’t end with everybody intact.”

“No, but…” Care grunted from deep within her chest. Her gemstones clinked together as she crossed her forelegs. “Encounters with her are going to keep being a problem until we finally take her down.”

“And we can’t take her down until we track her down.” Velvet placed a hoof on Care’s shoulder. “Finding a pony takes time. We have leads. We’ll start following them tomorrow. A mare like that can’t vanish into the crowd forever. We will find her.”

Care said nothing. She was content to stand up and pace along the sidewalk. Velvet followed her, soon coming alongside her. They headed towards the castle, which glowed purple against the last touches of light from the sunset.

“It isn’t just about finding her,” Twilight Velvet said. “Not for you.”

A reddish-orange horn bobbed as Care shook her head. “She needs to be stopped.”

“Yes, she does.” Velvet stepped to the side to dodge a rampaging colt carrying too much candy. “But why do you need her to be stopped so badly?”

Care clenched her jaw. She sent Velvet a mild glare out of the corner of her eye. “I kind of thought you’d feel the same way, considering… stuff.”

“Considering she slit my daughter’s throat?” Velvet snapped. Her shoulders shuddered as she took a deep breath. “Oh yeah, I want to smash her face into solid brick just as a start. But I’m not the one obsessing over it to the point where every word out of my mouth is a variation on ‘Hurricane must be stopped, no matter the cost.’”

Care’s face hardened. She stared straight ahead.

Twilight Velvet sighed. She rubbed her eyes and blew a ring from her pipe. “I’m sorry. That was too harsh. But I have to acknowledge that you’re going through something big, and I’d like to pinpoint it so that I can help you.”

She kicked a rock down a side-road. “We’re teammates, aren’t we? We need to be open with each other, so that we can trust each other.”

Care’s pink eyes reflected the light of a passing street lamp. They turned to spy Applejack heading inside town hall after having a conversation with somebody on the steps. “That’s what everybody says, I guess.”

Twilight Velvet came to a stop, sat on a bench, and patted the seat beside her. They sat together in the small square, facing a fountain that was being shut off by its caretaker.

“That night, when she attacked Celestia…” Care picked at the fabric of her costume. “Creator help me, I hated her so much.”

Care listened to the last plinks of water drift away on the wind. “When she stabbed Celestia, it was like she struck right at my own heart. She killed the Guards under my command, she struck down my princess on my watch, and it burned. It burned so badly. I hated Hurricane with every fiber of my being and I wanted to see her hurt. It was all I could think about.”

She slapped one hoof against the other. “Then some ponies tried to reach out to me. Applejack, Blankety… even Spike. I thought I was doing better. I thought I was cooling down. I just needed to make friends and I’d start to feel right again. But then… then I saw her in the market and it all came rushing back. Fire burning a hole in my chest. I needed to act, to fight back, to kill her or I’d explode!

The mare slumped against the bench as her words echoed around the square. It took a moment before she could bring herself to look at Velvet. When she did, the older unicorn gestured at Care’s horn.

Care looked up and crossed her eyes to see a trail of smoke rise from her white-hot horn-tip. She extinguished the magic with a grimace. She pulled her mask from her face. “Now you think I’m crazy. Maybe I am.”

Twilight Velvet bent forward to lean against her elbows. She lit her horn to pull her hat from her head. “No, I understand how you feel, Care. But take it from an old soldier; if you don’t separate your emotions from the job, it will mess you up. You will end up doing something you regret. Something you can’t take back.”

“It’s already messed me up.” Care waved her mask through the air on a current of magic. “I can’t trust myself anymore. Not around others, not by myself. I don’t know if I can… if I can be trusted to protect Celestia anymore.”

Velvet faced Care and placed a hoof on each of her shoulders. “Don’t just leave it at that. You can come back better. You can if you stand tall and set your face like flint. You have to take the horseapples that life throws at you and plow through them. You have to grit your teeth and don’t let her get to you. You have to be better than her. You have to chose to be strong.”

Care closed her eyes and bowed her head. “But what if I’m not better? What if I fail? Fall?”

Velvet looked towards the castle, which had cooled from bright purple to dark, starlit blue. “Then make friends who’ll help you back up.”

Care arched her back in a stretch before getting to her hooves. She rubbed the back of her neck and shifted her weight from leg to leg. “I want to.”

Velvet yawned. “Well, you can start tomorrow. Right now I gotta hit the hay. I can’t go falling asleep on Luna, can I?”

“Yeah, I guess not.” A laugh leaped out of Care’s throat. She bared a few teeth in a small smirk. “You really are as cool as the stories say.”

“Stories?”

“Yeah, around the castle. The old Guards still talk about the exploits of Twilight Velvet, former Captain of the Guard. You’re a legend.” Care bit her lip and rubbed her foreleg. “I’ve been meaning to ask; can I have your autograph?”

Velvet’s smile turned up at the corners. “You know, only half of those stories are true.”

Care’s eyebrows came together.

“I had to tone down the other half,” Velvet said. “Nopony would believe me otherwise.”

Care stared at her for a moment before breaking up into snickering laughter. Velvet joined in a second later, and the two walked back toward the castle.

***

Daring Do blushed as she shuffled a few more books into her saddlebags. She made a point to not look at Time Turner, who had been working on his time-stopping gauntlet for the better part of five hours. He had disassembled it completely and was working on polishing and oiling each component individually. He leaned over it with his goggles tight against his eyes, magnifying the parts, allowing him to see the slightest imperfection on the surface. A soft cloth wiped them down with swift strokes.

It was kinda hot in a nerdy sort of way.

She steadied herself. “No shenanigans.” Her ears flicked to a clicking sound across the room, where Blankety was making himself busy reading through various books. She wasn’t sure what changelings liked to read, so when he asked her for recommendations, she basically blurted out the Daring Do series and a couple of archeological magazines. She supposed that covered her bases.

She saw him crawl up the side of a bookcase with his cloven hooves. She shuddered. He was really creepy when he was in his normal changeling body, or whatever it was supposed to be called. Arthropod-form. Something.

She slumped against the table and covered her head. A peek out of the corner of her eye brought Time Turner into view. She shut the rebellious ocular device and clapped a hoof over it. It was so awkward. He could have have said ‘yes.’ Or even ‘no.’ He could have rejected her outright instead of going into the ‘waiting for the right time’ stuff. Instead it was all up in the air and confusing.

He liked her.

She liked him.

Now what?

The clock on the wall chimed eleven-o’-clock with an obnoxious, extended “Cuckoo! Cuckoo!” Spike has resigned himself to cleaning up the decorations tomorrow before he stumbled off to bed. Night Light and Velvet snuck off sometime around nine with heartfelt yawns. Care Carrot had mumbled something incoherent before disappearing herself.

That left the three of them. A workaholic tinkerer, a curious changeling, and a frustrated adventurer.

She turned her attention back to the table and the books scattered on it. A chill ran down her back, right to the tip of her tail, when she spied the Grimoire Alicorn. The cowhide cover was bad enough without the decades’ worth of forbidden knowledge. Still, it formed the backbone of her presentation to Luna.

“I just hope I can let her down slowly,” Daring muttered.

Time tilted an ear back. “Did you say something?”

Daring tossed the book on top of her saddlebags, not bothering to close the flap. “I was wondering how I was supposed to tell the princess about all this freaky alicorn stuff without sending her over the edge. She hasn’t been the most stable pony recently.”

“Why?” He rubbed the focusing crystal down until it shined brighter than the castle. “Did you find something troubling?”

“Uh—” Daring Do froze. The book’s text flashed before her eyes, burned into them like a brand. She didn’t exactly know when he—and the rest of the team—was supposed to find out about the unnatural alicorns. Velvet hadn’t said anything before she went off to scour the town. “Cuss. ‘Troubling’ is a good word for it.”

He pushed his goggles up and smiled. “Want to talk about it?”

Daring Do’s mouth dipped down to one side. She glanced at the cover of the book. The glossy text bearing its name flashed in the flickering candlelight. The silvery metal lock, broken by either age or force, dangled from its spine.

“To heck with that.” Daring Do shuffled herself around to sit next to him, scuffing the floor with her chair’s legs. “I’ve had enough of evil portents and ancient artifacts. Let’s get a look at some modern technology.”

“It’s modern technology in pieces, I’m afraid.” Time hovered his hoof over the scattered metal bits. He pointed across the table, when the other gauntlet sat undisturbed. “If you want to see something that works, you could look at the grapple gauntlet. It’s still a prototype. I’m afraid I haven’t found it overly useful.”

She leaned across the table and scooped it up. Her wing twitched as a spike of red-hot pain shot through it. “Son of a—”

“Something wrong?”

“My stupid wings.” She snatched the device up and clamped it over her foreleg. She glanced at her reflection in its sheen before taking a closer look at the joints and levers. “They hurt pretty bad when I don’t have ambrosia to dull the pain. As long as I don’t move them, they’re good, but…”

She grinned and leaned her face close to the gauntlet. “Who needs wings when you’ve got a grappling hook, right? Suddenly, I’m the Masked Defender! Zipping along the rooftops taking down evildoers one at a time!” She aimed at the ceiling and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

Time chuckled. “It’s got a safety lever. It prevents it from going off by accident.” He tapped the sharp end of the hook. “This thing would do a great deal of damage if you ever struck somebody. It’s designed to break through concrete.

Daring glanced around at their glistening, blue surroundings. “But not crystal, right?”

“Well…” He tilted his head back. “Most likely not. Not without finding, say, a weak point in the crystal’s structure.”

She released the safety lever and put her hoof on the trigger. “May I?”

“Be my guest. If you break anything, you get to be the one to tell Princess Twilight.”

“Fair enough.” Daring Do’s foreleg jerked back as the gauntlet let out a sprang. The sharp-tipped hook careened upwards, hit the ceiling with a resounding snap, and then clattered back to the floor. “Sweet!”

A turn of the crank drew the miniature-sized links of the chain back into the device. After one revolution, the spring inside the metal casing pulled it in the rest of the way. Daring Do hefted the gauntlet, admiring it from every angle. “So you make these things yourself, huh?”

Time Turner grinned. “Of course. Call it a hobby. Or perhaps a calling. I can’t help but fiddle with things, such as— Ah!” He reached under his duster coat and pulled out his four-legged walker. He set it on the table and gave it a nudge, which sent it stumbling forward. It righted itself, taking on a more confident pace.

“So what’s this one?” Daring Do pressed her nose against the edge of the table. She followed the little robot with her eyes. “A prototype for some sort of all-terrain transport? The first in an army of attack robots?”

“Hardly!” Time Turner laughed. He watched carefully as the device reached the edge, paused, and began to walk back the way it came. “It’s a toy. A bauble for little ones to play with. When it’s complete, it’ll look like a little pony. You can bump it—” He tapped the walker on its side, causing it to wiggle on its simple, pointed feet. “—but it won’t fall. Eventually, I’ll make it so that it actually turns around when it gets to the edge… rather than just walk back and forth. I haven’t quite got the kinks out.”

“I know that feeling,” Daring said. She gave the toy a nudge of her own, which sent it scrambling sideways. “A toy, huh? What made you wanna make that?”

“I was retired from all this adventuring stuff.” Time leaned back and crossed his forelegs. “I had thrown in the towel, so to speak. I wanted to try other things, and…” He shrugged, giving Daring a half-smile. “I let Dinky pressure me into it.”

“Dinky who?”

“That’d be Dinky Doo, actually.” He winked. “You’ve seen her, at least. She was the girl working in my shop. I’ve been a friend of her mother’s for years, and they’ve all but adopted me, you might say.” He shook his head with a slight chuckle. “Dinky, though… Smart as a whip, sharp as a tack, and all-around brilliant gel, that one. Tends to get her way, if you know what I mean.”

She gave him a cheeky grin. “I’ve met one or two people like that.”

He placed his hoof over the top of the toy, halting it in its tracks. He scooped it up and hid it from view. “I suppose I can say it’s her way of getting me out of my ‘funk,’ as she so tactfully put it.”

“Heh.” Daring rested her chin against her forelegs. “Got something that doesn’t require technical know-how?”

His nostrils twitched as he sighed. “Nothing more than a placebo, I’m afraid.”

Her eyebrows jumped up. “I’ll take it.”

“Hot cocoa.” Time slid his chair away from the table. “I think Spike said they had a bit of mix in the cupboards.”

“Pfft.” Daring lifted her right hoof and looked for a way to unlatch the gauntlet. “You need to try my mom’s special recipe. None of that Barnyard Bargains bargain bin horseapp—”

Commander Hurricane strode through the doorway.

Time Turner flipped the table on its side, scattering the pieces of his gauntlet across the library floor. He grasped Daring Do by the back of the neck and pushed her down just as several wingblades thudded into the wood and zipped by overhead.

“Oh dear.” Time Turner leaned against the underside of the table, but scootched away when he saw five razor-sharp point digging through the thick wood. He chanced a glance over the edge.

Hurricane’s forehoof kicked out as she flew over the barrier. It smashed against his nose, sending him to the ground. She angled downward and tackled Daring Do. They crashed into the other table, books tumbling around them. Daring lashed out with the gauntleted hoof and connected with the commander’s chin.

Blue light glistened from Hurricane’s coat. It carried from the impact point to her back, where it vanished completely.

Daring Do’s jaw dropped. Light armor coated Hurricane’s back; blue, plated armor with a magic shield designed specifically to absorb blows from kicks or punches. Riot gear.

Hurricane laid into Daring with a rapid-fire series of strikes, bruising and bloodying her nose. Daring swung with a wild left hook, but the commander grabbed it right out of the air. She twisted Daring’s foreleg while she placed her other hoof on the mare’s chest.

Time Turner pushed himself up and galloped to ram his shoulder into Hurricane’s side. She bucked with her hind legs and caught him in the center of his chest. He lifted into the air and landed hard on his back.

Hurricane grasped the sides of Daring’s head and lifted her onto the pile of books. She glared with cold, gray eyes. “Which of these is the Grimoire?

Daring Do kicked out and hit Hurricane in the stomach. The armor flashed, and the commander didn’t flinch. She stood on her hind legs and extended a wing, revealing one wingblade poised for a slice.

“Which of these is the Grimoire?” Hurricane said slowly.

Time Turner wrapped his forelegs around Hurricane’s wing and jerked her to the side. She stumbled off-balance. He rolled, flipping her end over end. Her head hit the crystal floor with a heavy crack.

Daring Do and Time Turner stood together, facing Commander Hurricane. The assassin stood up, her ears back and her eyes hot. “You are both—”

“Intruders!” a voice said, echoing through the entire castle, enhanced by its sound-carrying enchantment.

“Care,” Daring whispered. She favored Hurricane with a cocky grin. “You’re gonna regret hopping right into the lion’s den, you time-displaced freak.”

Hurricane leapt on them without a word, laying into them with a frenzy of hits that left them both dazed. A crashing uppercut knocked Daring down, while a wing-joint to the throat took Time’s breath away. She stomped on Daring Do’s head and hissed quietly in her ear, “It pays for the lion to fear the hunter.”

***

Care Carrot stumbled out of the bathroom, stifling a yawn as she tried to get her bearings. She hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, but that hadn’t stopped her body from trying to shut itself down. She touched a hoof to the wall to keep her balance, and to find her way back to her room in the dark. After a moment’s thought, a slight jolt of magic from her horn lit the hallway in a light pink glow.

With a little more to go on than just touch, Care was able to make better time back to her room. She shivered as she turned down the corridor as a slight breeze blew through her tangled mane. That sure woke her up a little bit. She stretched one foreleg over the back of her neck before trooping onward.

She almost ran right into the chest of a towering griffon.

She jumped back several steps, her eyes wide as her mind searched for a response. The griffon was almost as surprised to see her. He lifted a talon and pointed her way. “Take her out quietly.”

Something touched her neck. She tried to speak, but no air could escape. A unicorn mare trotted towards her, her horn glowing dark purple. A similar glow flashed at the corner of Care’s vision, wrapping tighter around her neck like an ethereal garrote. She let the other mare get a little closer. Just a little closer…

The pink shimmer around Care’s horn turned white hot. The other unicorn had time for a single grunt of “Uh?” before a fireball exploded against her chest. She was launched backwards with a scream, smoke in her wake.

The griffon caught her before tossing her to the side with a scowl. He pulled the volleygun from his back and aimed it at Care’s heart.

She was faster than him. A jet of flame jumped from her horn to his wing, turning several feathers to ash instantly. A screech like an eagle nearly deafened her, but she kept her attack concentrated on his torso. The volleygun fell to the ground as he raised his talons to cover his face.

A hoof crashed against the side of Care’s head, cutting off the fire and sending her flying. Two strong, butter-yellow forelegs wrapped around her neck and pinned her against the wall.

Zephyr held on tight as Care struggled in his grip. “I’ll take care of her! Go! Get the mirror!”

Grenadier Lanner growled deep, but he nodded, running with his burnt wing and charred leg folded close to his body. “Use the gun! Shoot her!”

Two other ponies hurried after Lanner, leaving the unicorn mare lying with her hooves curled up against her chest, moaning. Zephyr glanced at the smoke trailing from her body and corrected his hold on Care, pushing her horn away from himself. “I’ll try to make this quick—”

She jerked her head to the side and bit his foreleg. He yelped in surprise, slacking his grip.

Care grasped his legs with her own and kicked up and over. Her hind legs connected with his forehead, snapping his head back. She slid out of his grip, kicking once in the chest and again in the stomach. She spun on him, her horn flaring bright, her lips pursed.

She took a deep breath in and let it out, trusting in the castle’s magic to carry her voice. “Intruders!”