• 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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Dastard

“Intruders!”

Twilight Velvet bolted upright as the voice bounded into the guest bedroom. She slid from the bed and pulled her nighty off, her hooves clomping onto the floor. “Night, up!”

“Buhuh?” Night Light struggled as the loose sleeves of his striped pajamas tangle up with his covers. He brushed his rat’s nest of a mane down and blinked at his wife. “Breakfast yet?”

She slapped him lightly on his cheeks. “Wake up, we’ve got a problem. Care just shouted a warning over whatever kind of magic announcement system this castle has. We’ve got a fight on our hooves.”

He shook his head as his brain gradually came to wakefulness. “What do you need me to do?”

“Contact the nearest guard outpost.” Velvet threw the door open and stepped into the gloom. The walls glowed with a faint hint of magic—not nearly enough to light the way. She lit her horn to cast the castle in a soft blue glow. “I think it’s Canterlot’s garrison. If this is our mystery mare, we need reinforcements.”

Night Light pulled a radio from the bedside stand and searched for the right frequency. “And you?”

“Me?” Velvet snarled. “I’m gonna give these yahoos a piece of my mind.”

She broke into a full gallop, charging through the castle in the general direction of the staircase. She didn’t want to try for the elevators if they’d been tampered with. A flight of stairs took her downward, to the level where Spike’s room lay. She clomped a hoof against his door. “Spike! Spike!”

A voice hailed from further along the hallway. “In the kitchen!”

A quick run brought her to the room. Spike hung out the window, his head swinging between looking upwards and peering down. He dragged himself back inside and wrinkled his forehead. “I don’t know how they got inside. The main gates are locked tight.”

Velvet came alongside him and craned her neck. “What about the windows?”

“Um…” Spike’s eyes flashed bright green in the darkness. His sharp teeth dug into his lower lip and tilted his head back. “I… I don’t see anything up there, but…” He gripped the sill tight, digging into the crystal as he leaned forward. “Uh oh. Over to the left. That window’s… it’s hanging open.”

“Ground floor?” Velvet backed away before turning around and heading for the door. “Probably not pegasi, then. I’ll see what I can do about them.”

“What do you want me to do?” Spike wrung his hands together, his muscles flexing along his strong arms. “What can I do?”

Velvet took a deep breath, her eyes flicking between her hooves. “Head upwards. Get to the library and make sure they don’t steal anything powerful or dangerous. Help Captain Carrot if you find her.”

She noted the twitch of his tail and the sag in his shoulders. She cupped his cheek in her hoof. “Don’t worry, Spike. Not many things can hurt a dragon. Definitely nothing these bozos have got.”

“I-if you say so.” He bobbed his head. “Alright. I’ll go. Stay safe, okay?”

“That I can’t do.” She winked at him. “But I will stay alive. Let’s teach these nincompoops what it means to deal with the Sparkle family.”

They went their separate ways, she towards the ground floor, and he to the library a few stories above. Neither of them realized that they left the kitchen window open.

***

Time Turner reevaluated his strategy of blindly tackling Hurricane when the mare tossed him to the floor once more. The armor shrugged off the sturdiest blow he could give, even to the point of absorbing the impact whenever he was able to knock her to the ground. Still, getting knocked around by her hooves was a better alternative to dodging flying wingblades. It just wasn’t something they could keep up for long.

He glanced at the wingblades embedded in the flipped table. A strong tug could pull them out, but he had no real way to throw them. Not with any amount of skill. The blades would no doubt be dulled by the impact, just enough that they’d be useless against Hurricane’s armor.

He got to his feet only to be knocked down by a quick headbutt. He struggled to regain his breath after the constant kicks and punches from the assassin. His chest and face were bruising, and his jaw was swollen and red.

He watched Daring Do face off one-on-one with Hurricane. Daring was only slightly more successful than he was. She was a boxer through and through, ducking and weaving through most punches, while blocking the rest with upraised forelegs. A stray hit struck her left wing, sending a clear jolt of pain across her face.

Hurricane leapt up and spread her wings. Candlelight glinted off the metal blades hidden among her feathers. Time leaped up and bit down on her tail. The last thing they needed was to give her enough room to maneuver. His neck jerked as he was lifted into the air, carried by the mare’s strong downward strokes. He was forced to let go before she got high enough to dash him against the ground.

A bright green flash exploded against Hurricane’s side. She and the flame-wreathed blur tumbled through the air to smash against the stained-glass window, shattering several frames. They plummeted out of the air and crumpled right beside Daring Do.

The flames died down to reveal the black carapace of Blankety Blank. His cloven hooves fought to dig past Hurricane’s armor, but the magic held back his every blow. A bite against her neck was knocked back by a flick of her wing.

The assassin flipped into the air and kicked Blankety high. In the midst of her spin, she swung a wing in a full arc. Several blades followed the changeling, some sticking into his chest, others finding his joints. His wings flared out from his body, and he wheedled off towards the bookshelves.

He reached a hoof out to grasp the edge and pull him up. Green blood leaked from his left knee, but the blades hadn’t penetrated his exoskeleton.

He winced. A sharp prick against his stomach told him that some had gotten through. He glanced down at his body to see the metal embedded in his torso. They’d take a lot of work to wiggle out, and even more time to heal.

A tug against his tail told him that he should have been paying attention.

He slid backwards off the shelf and was launched at speed at the ground. He landed hard on his back, which was followed by Hurricane landing hard on his stomach. She grasped the sides of his head and squeezed with all her might. A distressing crackling sound came from somewhere behind his ears.

Blankety’s multifaceted eyes rolled back. He caught a glimpse of Time Turner and Daring Do running at him with a table held between them.

The edge of the table hit Hurricane full in the snout. The force of the blow broke the table in half and gave him a chance to slip from her grip. He kicked out with his hind legs and scrambled as fast as his hooves could crawl.

Daring Do pressed the advantage. She leaped at Hurricane with forelegs outstretched. A sky-blue hoof cupped itself behind her head and ran her nose into the side of the bookshelf. Another snap of Hurricane’s hoof cuffed her ear. Daring swung wildly, only to have her foreleg grasped by both of the assassin’s. Hurricane’s rear leg crashed against her right wing, causing a scream to rise from her chest.

Hurricane watched the wing twitch against Daring’s side. “I’ve seen your disease before, flightless one. We called it living death.”

Time Turner’s hoof connected with empty air as Hurricane ducked away. He yelped when the assassin tossed Daring at him. He caught her and held her close.

Hurricane took flight.

Time Turner gritted his teeth and put a tall bookcase between them and the assassin. “Are you hurt?”

“Mostly my pride,” Daring grunted. “Leggo.”

A patter of hoofsteps and the click of claws against crystal sounded from the entryway. Time peered between books as he released Daring. “Looks like more unwanted company.”

Daring kept an eye to the sky. “Can we take ’em?”

“Unlikely. I see two pegasi and a griffon, on top of dear Miss Hurricane.” Time turned to looked at her, but found himself staring right into Blank’s buggish eyes. It took every ounce of control he had not to scream. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” he hissed.

“S-sorry.”

Hurricane hovered in front of Lanner, her eyes hard. “There are at least three of them in this room. Find the mirror quickly.”

“I know.” The griffon pointed in the direction they’d come with a smoking foreleg. “Zephyr is handling a Royal Guard. It’s likely there are more on the way. We need an exit strateg—”

Hurricane snatched two grenades from his belt. She pulled the pin out of one, held it for a moment, and then flung it at the stained glass window. The window shattered with a colorful, ear-splitting blast. “There’s your way out. Find it now. I’ll hold them back.”

Time Turner cleaned out his ear. “Ouch.” He glanced at Blankety out of the corner of his eye and winced at the blades stuck in his armored hide. “What do they make you people out of?”

“Carapace does g-good against p-piercing.” Blank touched a ginger hoof to his temple. “N-not so much crushing damage.”

“Guys, did you hear that?” Daring Do dragged them under a nearby table, just as the griffon and his goons walked past. Hurricane’s wing beats sounded out overhead. “They’re going after the mirror. Starswirl’s magic mirror. Whatever they want with a portal like that, it cannot be good.

Blankety Blank licked his lips with his long, forked tongue. “I c-can take the three of them if y—If you two c-can distract Hurricane.”

“What?” Time Turner fought to keep his voice low. “With your injuries? I can’t condone—”

“Shut up, it’s a halfway-decent plan.” Daring massaged her aching wings with her gauntleted hoof. “It’s just until Care and Velvet reach us. No way Twilight slept through that scream. She’s on her way. All of us together, there’s no way Hurricane’s getting away.”

“Best laid plans.” Time Turner placed a hoof against his forehead. “You’re sure you can pull it off, Blankety?”

Blankety’s changeling face crackled as he gave the two of them a devious grin, with a curling mouth and flashing fangs. “T-trust me. They won’t know what hit them.”

He vanished into the shadows.

“Your buddy’s actually pretty terrifying as a changeling.” Daring Do grasped Time’s hoof with hers. “You ready to show Hurricane what it means to tangle with the Knights of Harmony?”

He squeezed back, offering her an unconvincing smirk. “I haven’t anything better to do tonight.”

***

Twilight Velvet leaned around a corner. She could see two ponies, an earth pony and a unicorn, both sitting beneath an open window. They were looking into the throne room, muttering to themselves.

“Geeze, that’s really where they held court?” the unicorn stallion asked.

“Yeah,” the earth pony mare said, “if you can call a bunch of girls talking about friendship ‘court.’”

“Technically, they mostly sat around it during planning sessions.”

“I know. I sat in on one a few years back. What a load of horseapples. Do you believe they’d do anything the Tree of Harmony told them to do?”

“When one of them is Pinkie Pie, I’d believe they’d do anything.” The unicorn stallion glanced up. “Speaking of the Tree of Harmony, is this castle a tree, too? Like, its offspring? Or is it just an extension of the Tree’s will?”

“It’s a tree. It’s a castle. It doesn’t have a will.”

“The Elements of Harmony were necklaces and they had a will.”

“No, that’s stupid. They just did whatever their wearers told them to do.”

“So before, the Elements would do whatever the girls said…”

“Yeah.”

“And after, the girls would do anything the Tree said?”

“Wha—”

“Isn’t the Tree, like, a manifestation of the Elements?”

“I don’t think—”

Twilight Velvet slid along the wall, getting closer and closer. A small grin appeared on the side of her mouth.

“So how come they couldn’t order the Elements around anymore? It doesn’t make sense that they had so much control and then it turned a one-eighty on them.”

“I always figured,” Twilight Velvet said, “that the Elements of Harmony are mystical artifacts that we don’t really understand, and probably aren’t even on the same level of existence we are. You can’t exactly fault their track-record, though.”

The two ponies turned to look at her, their eyes wide. She punched the earth pony mare in the face.

The unicorn lit his horn and fired a bolt of ice her way. Velvet watched it impact harmlessly against a bubble of magic. “You know, people always think Shining Armor made up the shield spell or something.”

The earth pony jumped up with hooves flailing. Velvet ducked under her body and rammed her shoulder into the mare’s belly. A kick with her hind leg snapped the mare’s jaw shut. “And would you believe the big stinker lets them think that? Pshh. Never gives mommy the credit she deserves.”

A flare of her horn sent the earth pony flying towards the ceiling. A dull thud sounded from up above. The unicorn advanced, while Velvet took a few steps back. They faced each other with horns glowing bright in the darkness, hers blue and his a muted red.

Twilight Velvet extinguished her horn and held her hooves up. “Hold up now. Can’t we talk about this?”

The unicorn tilted his head to the side and squinted. He kept his horn trained on her, never noticing the whoosh of air from up above. “No funny business, now—”

The earth pony mare fell on top of him, flattening him with a splat.

“Good talk.” Twilight Velvet pulled the unconscious ponies apart and began to wrap their hooves tight in a rope from her saddlebags. “This’ll do until the Guard comes.”

A pair of hooves clapped behind her back. She turned her head and flashed the newcomer a wink. “How’d I do?”

Night Light’s thin face came into view as he closed the distance. He gave her a small peck on the lips. “Will you marry me?”

Velvet ruffled her husband’s mane. “You keep asking me and the answer’s the same every time.”

“I know. Doesn’t stop me from asking.” He gripped the stallion’s tail with a glow from his horn. “Need some help?”

“Yeah, help me get them into the throne room.” Velvet dragged the mare along behind her. “I don’t want them being trouble when they wake up. How long until the soldiers get here?”

“The pegasi will get here in roughly twenty minutes. Give or take.” Night Light grunted as his horn sputtered. “The unicorns and earth ponies a little after that.”

“Wow.” Twilight Velvet gritted her teeth and gazed at the high-vaulted ceiling. “We’re on our own?”

***

Grenadier Lanner waved his good talon at the two pegasi under his command. “Come on. It’s a magical mirror portal; it cannot be difficult to find.”

“I’d prefer a few more lights myself.” One of the goons ducked his head, jumping at a shadow. “It’s blasted gloomy in here.”

His partner chuckled. “You never was the brightest.”

“Ouch.”

“Shut up and keep your eyes peeled.” Lanner twitched his head left and right to catch a hint of any magical artifacts. “With any luck, we can be in and out before we have to deal with any more…”

He noticed that the others had gone completely silent. He spun around to find himself completely alone between the bookshelves. He spread his wings and slid backwards, always spinning and circling to keep an eye on all sides. He flexed his talons, ready to rake the eyes from his attacker.

Green fire flashed in the darkness. He brought his talon down in a vicious strike. He met empty air.

“Come out and fight, coward,” he growled. “You can’t change the tide of battle. We are too many. We are too dedicated. We are too skilled.”

Cloven hooves made their way down the side of a bookcase, making nary a sound. Fangs parted.

Lanner increased his pace, touching a wing to the books, his head on a constant swivel. “Come out, come out, wherever you are. You can surprise two fools of ponies, but how will you fair against a griffon Blitzwing?”

Blenkety Blank dropped down from straight overhead.

His fangs bit deep into Lanner’s neck and siphoned magic. His spiny hooves gripped the griffon’s fur and feathers as it screamed, writhed, rolled. A talon found his neck and squeezed, and he was forced to let go. He was thrown against the wall, where he felt a transparent wing fold beneath the impact.

The griffon roared and charged. A talon racked across his carapace, leaving shallow scratched against the matte black. Lanner pecked with his beak, but found much the same result. He plucked Blank off of the floor and threw him once more.

Blankety landed against the side of the magic mirror portal. The mirror rattled within the assembly. The mirror image to Sunset Shimmer’s diary fell from its perch and landed atop the changeling’s head.

A blackened feather fell from Lanner’s wing. “Bingo.”

Blankety scrambled to his feet, but was caught up in Lanner’s good talon. The griffon hissed in his face. “Where did you happen to put the others? I hope you didn’t go an slay them—”

Blankety’s body burst into green flames. Lanner yowled and dropped him. The changeling skittered into the shadows before the griffon could do more than grunt in surprise.

“Coward!” Lanner gripped the sides of the portal’s enclosing stand. He tore away the additions Twilight Sparkle had added to the mirror’s frame. It fell towards him, silent and cold, the magic drained from its surface. It was heavy; more than he could carry midflight alone. He had to find the two morons, and then make sure Hurricane had the Grimoire Alicorn.

And, perhaps, get a little revenge on the resident changeling.

***

Hurricane stood before the shattered stained-glass window. The wind ruffled her mane and feathers, chilling her bones. Her ears twitched towards a sound behind her. The crinkle of glass. A spin of her body and a sweep of her wings sent blades flying at the source of the sound.

Like before, they thudded deep into an overturned table. She cursed to herself. There were only twenty-four blades left. Enough to slay anything… if she could only hit it.

Time Turner shouted, and Daring took it as the signal to charge. They pushed the table along the floor, over the glass, intending to repeat their earlier success with injuring Hurricane with a table. Not this time.

Hurricane leapt onto the edge of the table and jerked her wings downward, sending two blades to either side. One blade thudded into a book Daring was carrying, but the other grazed her hind leg. Time’s book-shield failed him entirely, allowing one knife to stab him in the left foreleg, and the other to impact his hip. Hurricane snarled at the loss of four more blades and flapped her wings, jumping high into the air. The wind carried her to the ceiling, where she hovered overhead.

Daring raised her gauntlet and scanned the air. She stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth, trying to find her target. The shadows were too deep, and the wind from the window was too loud. “Can’t seem to get a—Horseapples!”

The first wingblade from above cut into her wing, but Time was able to pull her out of the range of the other four. “Where in Tartarus does she get these things?”

“Straight out of her—” Daring Do cringed as her whole body shuddered from the pain in her wing. “Ow.”

“Blast. There’s really nothing we can do about her…” Time and Daring raced back to the pile of books and huddled beside it. “Blast. Where is Care? Where is Velvet?

“I’d take Spike at this point.” Daring Do brushed her grayscale mane from her eyes. Her teeth clacked together as she pointed skyward. “Here she comes!”

Hurricane swooped down and tossed a wingblade their way. Time ducked and allowed it to zing harmlessly over his head, while Daring ran for the nearest shelf. She leaned her back against it and held her gauntlet at the ready, waiting for the next moment Hurricane appeared.

Something clattered against the ground.

Daring Do lifted her head. She caught a glimpse of Hurricane before she disappeared back into the shadows.

Time looked down. A small, rounded object bumped against his hoof. He eyed it with confusion, then with a growing panic. He pushed himself away from the books. “Whickering stallions—!”

The grenade detonated in his face. The smoke obscured anything else.

Daring Do’s heart shattered. “No! Time! Time!

Hurricane looped down to view the damage and see if there was anything left to finish off. She hovered above the wispy cloud and scanned for any sign of Daring.

Daring Do leaped out of cover, pointed the hook at Hurricane, and let it fly. It tore its way through the muscle and tendons of the assassin’s left wing. Daring yanked it tight, and found it stuck fast.

Hurricane howled, flapping her right wing as vigorously as she could, trying to pull free of the hook. Blood leaked from the wound, standing stark against her sky-blue feathers. Another jerk on the chain from Daring brought the scarred mare to the ground.

As Hurricane staggered to her feet, she saw her magic shield flicker. The armor couldn’t take the force from the grappling hook’s blow. It was overwhelmed. It was fading.

Daring Do ran towards the mare, her hooves pounding the floor in anticipation of doing the same to her enemy’s head. A swinging right hook collided with Hurricane’s temple, followed by a left uppercut that drew blood from her mouth. The next attack was halted by the assassin’s hoof, and further blows were stalled by a fierce head-butt.

Hurricane gathered the chain and looped it around Daring’s neck. A furious jerk brought the noose tight, squeezing the life from her throat. Hurricane held on tight, dragging Daring Do backwards, towards the open window. She panted as her opponent squirmed. “A pegasus that cannot fly… is dead already.”

Daring Do gargled a response.

The scarred mare leaned out the window. Her mane whipped across her eyes, but it could not obscure the ground many stories below. She spat blood onto the street. “Take comfort. You and your friend will not be separated for long.”

Daring bit Hurricane’s hoof. She clamped down as much as her jaw muscles could stand it. Hurricane swung her around and smashed her nose against the window sill. With a huff of effort, the assassin flung her out into the open air.

Hurricane watched Daring fall. She put a hoof on the ledge to rest, to catch her breath. The sound of chains scraping against crystal caught her attention.

She looked at the hook embedded in her wing, which was attached to the chain, which was attached to the mare she’d just defenestrated. “Rut.”

The chain pulled tight. Hurricane’s stomach hit the sill first, before she was pulled over the edge by her own momentum. She couldn’t fly in her condition—there was no way to even move her left wing—but maybe she could break her fall. She caught a draft with her right wing, which managed to adjust her course.

She saw a crystalline outcropping in the side of the castle. It almost looked like a tree branch. It would hold. A flap carried her over it, while Daring fell to the far side. The outcropping caught the middle of the chain. Hurricane was in freefall for an instant, and then an intense pain grabbed at her flesh. The bone strained, and the muscles screamed, but her descent was halted.

She saw Daring Do swinging towards her, murder in her eyes.

***

Care found herself engaged in a war of attrition. Zephyr had her beat pound-for-pound, so a straight-up brawl was out of the question. Size was also a factor; she had more surface area she could strike, but the close quarters meant that he could hit her by doing something as simple as throwing himself against the wall. His muscles shrugged off her kicks like she was beating a brick wall.

And his punches? Her bleeding lip spoke for itself.

Every time she jumped back to launch a fireball at him, he would just leap after her, his wings giving him a push. She couldn’t risk hitting him at point-blank range, not when the fire would just as easily burn her.

He was breathing heavily, and so was she.

She jabbed her horn into his shoulder. It wasn’t sharp enough to pierce, but it was hard enough to bruise. He grunted and swung low. She flipped over his leg and caught the side of his head with a lashing kick.

While he recovered, she edged herself towards the volleygun. She’d seen those things in action. If she got a hold of it, it would end the fight pretty quick. The same thing would happen if he got a grip on it, too.

He charged her. She stepped aside, putting more distance between her and the weapon. She gritted her teeth when she realized he was much closer to it than before. She had to act fast. She hopped up and wrapped her hooves around his neck. She jerked her head left and right, trying to poke his eye with the tip of her horn.

He bit down on the bone. Her eyes widened as he flipped her over using his neck muscles alone. She crashed against the floor, the wind knocked clean out of her.

He held the volleygun in his forelegs, one hoof just touching the trigger. The spear point at the end of the barrel pricked her chest. “Surrender, or I’ll be forced to kill you.”

She moved her forelegs, but the blade dug a little into her skin. She froze. “I’d say the same thing to you.”

His ears lay back against his head. He took in deep breaths as sweat ran down his shoulders. “We’re just trying to make Equestria a better place. Don’t make me hurt you to see that happen. I will.”

“You’re with Hurricane, aren’t you?” Care snarled. “You’re part of her crew of monsters, aren’t you? You helped murder Royal Guards, didn’t you?

Zephyr’s mouth opened the slightest bit. He sighed. “Like the commander says, there’s always one more—”

A roar greater than a lion’s, deeper than a bear’s, and more dangerous than a manticore’s split the air around Zephyr. He spun around with wide eyes to see a dragon barreling towards him, as tall as a pony and a bit wider. Claws gouged the crystal floor. Smoke billowed from its snout. Its green eyes glowed in the darkness. Its mouth opened in a roar angrier than the last. “Let go of my friend!

Without a second thought, Zephyr fired the volleygun. The metal ball warped into a disk as it flew through the air, until it crashed against Spike’s chest. With a gasp, the dragon tumbled head over heels, coming to a rest in the midst of the hallway.

“Spike!” Care screeched. She lit her horn with a blaze, flinging as much fire at Zephyr as she could. Flames danced across her forelegs and singed the edge of her mane, while the majority scorched Zephyr’s face. He fell back, holding the volleygun between him and Care. She laid into him with as many punches as she could throw, her chest burning and her heart thundering.

He twitched the volleygun and hit her with the butt end. Stars burst in the back of her eyes, obscuring her vision and throwing her balance for a loop. When she blinked the confusion away, he was standing over her with a hoof poised to crush her throat.

He threw the punch, but it was stopped by a scaly, purple claw. He looked into Spike’s burning eyes as a chill ran through him.

Spike held the hoof tight in his left hand. Black powder was blown across his chest, all around a tiny dent in his armor-like scales. What remained of the volleygun’s projectile clattered to the floor. The dragon growled from deep in his throat and squeezed Zephyr’s hoof. The stallion screamed as pain shot through his foreleg.

Green flames licked at the edges of Spike’s mouth. He raised his right hand and made a tight, shaking fist. “This… is… for… Twilight!

He struck Zephyr with all of his strength.

Zephyr’s body soared down the hall. It bounced off one wall, then another, before finally sagging to the floor in a misshapen heap.

Care groaned, stretching her back in an arch. She climbed to her hooves and sighed. She leaned against the wall and looked at Zephyr, preparing herself to continue the fight if needed.

Zephyr didn’t move.

Spike didn’t move, either. He didn’t blink. He didn’t breathe.

Care ignored the pain in her muscles to walk up to the dragon. She tilted her head. “Spike? Spike, are you okay?”

Spike trembled. “Oh no.”

“Spike,” Care said. “Spike, easy, it’s—”

Spike raised his hands into the light of her horn. His eyes locked with the red on his purple fingers. He dropped to all fours and ran towards Zephyr. He halted a meter away, choking back a sob. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no…”

When Care caught up with him, she saw that he’d stopped at the edge of the growing pool of blood. One glance at Zephyr’s body told her that he was dead before he hit the first wall. She extinguished her horn to hide the sight. “Spike, it’s—”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He gripped his knees tight. He was taller than Care, bulkier than her, too, but he curled up until he seemed smaller than a mouse. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

Care placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Spike, it’s alright. Just let it—”

Don’t touch me!” Spike fell to his back. He crawled over to the wall and huddled down, hiding himself with his blood-covered hands. “Stay away from me! Don’t let me hurt you!”

“Spike, it’s okay.” Care crept towards him, inch by inch. “You’re not going to hurt me. I need your help—”

“Go away!” Tears fell from Spike’s eyes. His words were barely intelligible beneath his cries. “S-stay back! Don’t… don’t touch… don’t touch…”

He hugged himself tight and rocked back and forth. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

Care Carrot closed her eyes and let out a low breath. “It’s gonna be okay, Spike. Just rest.”

She turned away and headed back up the corridor. She picked up the volleygun on her way, slinging it over her shoulder. The mare she’d burnt earlier was curled up in a corner. The injured unicorn lifted her head. “Oh, Creator, just take me now.”

Care grasped the mare by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall. “Where did you come in?”

The mare screeched as the burns on her chest met with Care’s hoof. “What the flying feather—?”

Where did you come in?” Care shook her before pushing her against the crystal again. “Tell me now!”

“Ground floor!” the mare gasped. “By the throne room!”

Care let her slide to the floor. She set out at a swift march for the staircase, her jaw clenched nearly tight enough to crack a tooth.

***

Grenadier Lanner hefted the mirror onto his back. He kept his wings spread to keep it balanced, but he still needed to step lightly. He growled at the shadows, daring the changeling to burst forth. “What’s the matter? Afraid to break your precious artifact? Afraid you would lose something so irreplaceable?”

A smile touched the tip of his beak. “You’re too late either way. Victory is assured. There is nothing you can do to stop us.”

“P-power tripping, much?” The voice echoed from bookcase to bookcase, coming from everywhere at once. “S-sign of insecurity.”

“So the animal speaks.” Lanner kept to the wall, edging around the bookcases clustered throughout the room. “Very impressive for a mere drone. I thought you were all puppets of that Chrysalis creature.”

There, in the center of three shelves. The two bumbling idiots were bound and gagged; tied up to a pair of chairs. An obvious trap with obvious bait.

“I th-thought all griffons were jerks.” The voiced maintained that same infuriating, ethereal echo. “Haven’t been w-wrong yet.”

“Griffons understand strength.” Lanner crept towards the trap, careful to angle the mirror to ward off attacks from above. “We understand power. We understand that intimidation is the key to keeping our enemies at bay and our allies in line.”

“Y-yeah. Who wants to hang ar-around a p-party pooper?”

Lanner’s pupils expanded in the darkness. His sharp eyes searched for movement of any kind from the sides or on high. “What would you understand? What is your perception of power?”

The grenadier grimaced. “Who do you follow? Chrysalis baked to death in the dry heat of the Badlands years ago. Celestia fell to a humble spear. Twilight crumpled beneath a shower of steel. Even now, the Nightmare drives Luna mad. You are lost, broken, defeated.”

His talon sliced through the captives’ bonds. He set the mirror down gently, allowing them to take up position on the far side. One pegasus moved to grab the frame immediately.

The other leapt on Lanner.

Fangs bit into Lanner’s shoulder. Flames wrapped themselves around the attacking pegasus, adding to the burns on the grenadier’s body. The griffon shouted at the top of his lungs. “Sheerah kroot!

The pegasus lifted the chair and smashed it against Blankey’s body. The changeling lost his grip.

Lanner’s talon clamped over Blankety’s neck. He lifted the changeling high into the air. The other talon came up, grasped Blank’s horn, and twisted it off. Blankety Blank fell to the ground amidst pained screams.

Lanner tucked the scraggly horn into his belt beside his grenades. “We follow a Master far more powerful than anything ever seen before in Equestria. A true Alpha. A literal god. He lives in dreams, in nightmares. He sees the future—a future with him as the new King of the Universe, and Equestria as his step stool.”

He grabbed Blankety by the top of his head and lifted him to eye-level. “What’s wrong? Words finally fail you?”

He shrugged and cast the limp changeling aside. “Find the other pegasus. We’re getting out of here right n—”

His hind paw crunched against burnt paper. He looked around to see the aftermath of Hurricane’s grenade. A pony was lying in the ash, but that wasn’t what caught his eye. An ancient book, with a cover made from cowhide, sat off to the side, knocked free of some saddlebags by the force of the blast.

He picked it up and read the glossy script on the cover. “Grimoire Alicorn. Excellent. Secondary objective achieved.”

***

Hurricane kicked out with her hind legs and felt something crack. Daring Do swung away, frustration competing with pain in her shout. The assassin looked up. She could climb up to the outcropping, but not with her enemy harassing her the whole way. Killing her was proving to be difficult, and removing the gauntlet from her foreleg was an exercise in suicide. If weight was removed from one end of the chain, the other would simply plummet.

She looked to the metal hook digging into her wing. Her eyes trailed up the chain. Maybe she could work that to her advantage.

Daring Do swung back for another attempted kick, and Hurricane pushed against the wall. While Daring carried on through empty air, the assassin looped around behind her. The flightless pegasus spun around, over and over, but was unable to regain control of her momentum.

Hurricane looped the chain several times around her foreleg. She pulled herself up until there was no weight on her injured wing. A quick glance down brought a prospective escape into view: An open window two stories below. She gripped the hook in her teeth and pulled.

Daring Do got a hold of herself. She rested with her hind legs against the wall. She growled at Hurricane, ready to charge the scarred mare once more. She gave her a double-take when she saw her pulling the hook from her own bloody wing.

A griffon and two pegasi flew out the window overhead, carrying the mirror between them. Daring’s hoof slipped. She swore deeply and darkly. They’d got what they came for.

With one last tug, the hook came free.

Daring felt the chain slack for one brief, terrifying moment. She held onto the chain desperately. She saw Hurricane out of the corner of her eye; cold gray eyes gazed at her with quiet fury.

Hurricane let go of the chain and dropped. A mighty flap of her good wing sent her gliding through the open window and into the kitchen, where she crashed into the table and chairs set up in the middle of the room.

Daring Do screamed. She grasped for the hook, but it was too far out of reach. She spread her wings, but there was no hope of even gliding—not with the pain shooting through every inch of her fairy strings. On a whim, she spun the wheel on the gauntlet. The chain retracted quickly, but not quite quickly enough. She fell far beyond any hope of looping it around the outcropping. The ground approached fast.

Daring Do thought faster.

A stained glass window stood out against the blue crystal. Daring took aim and fired the grappling hook. It zipped upwards and smashed its way through one pane of glass. A moment later, the hook grabbed onto the iron holding the window together. The chain came taut.

Daring Do crashed against the side of the castle. She hung by her foreleg, which had become dislocated with that last yank. Before her muscles got any bright ideas about coming apart, she grasped it with her other leg and hauled herself up.

She hung still, catching her breath, not allowing herself to think about what had just happened. Not allowing herself to think about what might come next.

***

Hurricane picked herself up. She shook wood splinters from her body and kicked the fragments of chair and table aside. A lesser mare would have a broken neck, or a crushed skull, or at the least a broken leg.

Hurricane was not a lesser mare. She was the perfect union of pegasus and earth pony.

She couldn’t help a slight limp, and her left wing hung useless at her side, but she walked out of the kitchen. She would meet up with her fellow soldiers downstairs and they would escape in the wagon parked a block away from the castle. The mirror was recovered. No doubt Zephyr would see to the Grimoire Alicorn’s destruction.

As she neared the ground floor, she could hear hints of conversation. The rear guard was getting sloppy. She could hear them all the way from—

“Just set them beside the thrones. Yeah, that’s it, rest them against it. We can start going up, see how Spike’s doing.”

That wasn’t the voice of either of her troops. Hurricane snarled. She took the steps two at a time, her limp ignored, her wing forgotten. Prisoners were unacceptable. They either needed to be freed, or dealt with permanently. She counted out the remaining wingblades in her right wing’s feathers: Five. Barely enough to deal with a single pony on the move. Not ideal when grounded.

She tilted her head to see around a corner. Four ponies. Two of them tied up and leaning against the throne with a purple, crystalline star. The others were unicorns, standing around the table that became the map of Equestria. She’d fought the mare before; she’d rescued Twilight Sparkle just before the killing blow.

Hurricane narrowed her eyes and pulled her wing back. “Not this time.”

“I don’t know, darling,” Night Light said. He turned to the hallway and stifled a yawn. “Might just be easier to knock them unconscious and darn the brain dam—”

The glint of metal shocked him into silence. The blade humming through the air, straight towards his wife, shocked him into action. He jumped at her and pushed her to the ground. The blade found its home in his stomach.

The earth pony mare lifted her head. “Hurricane! We’re over here—!”

Blade to the neck. Dead.

“Oh Creator!” The unicorn stallion tried to shuffle behind Twilight Sparkle’s throne. “She’s gone mad—!”

Blade between the eyes. Dead.

Twilight Velvet dragged her husband to the far side of the crystal table. She tucked him away, right next to Applejack’s throne. “Oh no. Stay with me, Night. Stay with me.”

Night Light smiled. He cocked his eyebrow and looked to his wounded belly. “You know, it actually doesn’t look too bad.”

He passed out from the pain soon after. Twilight Velvet tore the sleeve off his striped pajamas and wrapped it around his torso, careful to make it especially tight around the blade. She kissed him on the cheek.

The clomp of hooves echoed through the throne room. Twilight Velvet poked her head over the top of the table. A blade ricocheted off of the crystal, causing her to duck. She lit her horn and encased herself in a bubble of magic. “Same old tricks, huh, Hurricane?”

“They worked before. Often.” Hurricane walked around the edge of the circle of thrones. “They will work again.”

Velvet moved in concert with her, always keeping the table between them. “Like that neat trick you’ve played on Equestria. The one where you pretend to actually be competent.”

Hurricane shook her head, her cold, gray eyes fixed on the darkened map. “If thou seekest to injure my pride, thou must dig a great deal deeper.”

“So when are you actually going to do something that matters?” Velvet felt her hoof brush against chilled metal. She encased the dropped wingblade in her magic grasp and held it at the ready. “Something besides mildly inconveniencing immortals. When are you going to wake up and realize that you’re on the losing side?”

“I have lived my entire life on the losing side.” Hurricane looked to her wing. One blade left. “It builds character.”

“Terrible character.” Twilight Velvet laid her ears back against her scalp. She had to time it perfectly. “I’ve been wondering, are you a crazy from the past, or just completely nuts?”

“My story is my own to tell to whom I wish.” Hurricane drew her wing back. “Thou art not on the short list.”

Twilight Velvet kept her voice clear and even, hiding the fact that she was drawing strength to her limbs. “I guess they’ll have to knock it out of you in the Canterlot prisons.”

Velvet jumped up and let the wingblade fly, guided along its warpath by her magic. Hurricane flapped her wing, shooting off her knife at the same millisecond. The blades passed each other by over the top of the table.

Twilight Velvet fell to the side, letting out a screech as the steel dug into her shoulder. Hurricane snarled as a deep gash appeared along her side. She snorted steam and jumped clean over the table. Velvet raised her hooves, but was unprepared for Hurricane to ram her entire body into her chest. The two went airborne, crashing down on the map.

Light flashed all around. The gemstones adorning the thrones glowed bright, lines snaked through the floor, and the map itself sparked into existence. Velvet pushed Hurricane off of her and looked down at a miniature, illusive Equestria.

Hurricane smashed a hoof into the side of Velvet’s head. The unicorn retaliated with a flick of her horn, driving the assassin face-first into the glistening Fillydelphia marker. A kick with her hind leg caught Velvet in the knee—something popped.

The scarred mare grasped the sides of Velvet’s head and used her own weight against her. Griffonstone vanished beneath their bodies. They rolled together, crushing Manehattan and phasing through the Smokey Mountains. A furious downward strike cut Velvet’s cheek, while a frenzied bite tore into Hurricane’s ear.

A twisted limb drew a shout from Velvet. Hurricane climbed on top of her, holding her down with all her might. The assassin pushed Velvet’s head against the Badlands, and only let go long enough to smash her hooves into the unicorn’s face. She hit her again, and again, and again, and again.

Velvet’s legs fell limp to either side. Her cheeks swelled up around her mouth. A broken tooth fell from between her lips. She glared up at Hurricane, just in time to see the hooves come down one last time.

Hurricane raised herself to her hind legs. She wrapped her forelegs around Velvet’s head and lifted her up. She took a solid stance, her good wing spread. One hoof went to the left side of the unicorn’s head, while the other reached across. The assassin gritted her teeth and prepared to twist.

“Put her down!”

She stopped. She flicked her ear backward.

“Put her down.” Care Carrot stood at the edge of the thrones, her volleygun trained right on the scarred mare’s back. “Drop her or I’ll shoot!”

Hurricane put her forelegs to the sides and let Velvet collapse to the map’s surface. She turned around slowly, moving her right wing to show that there were no wingblades hidden among the feathers. Dropping to her four hooves, she narrowed her eyes at the weapon.

“You stay right there.” Care shifted her grip, jiggling the trigger. “Stay right where you are, understand? You aren’t escaping this time. You aren’t getting away with horseapples!

Hurricane stared down the barrel of the volleygun. Her ear twitched. “I do not believe thou understands how those work.”

“I know well enough,” Care said, breathless. “I know that if I pull this switch, you’re not alive anymore. And… and everypony’s happier for it!” Her shoulders shook. “As a matter of fact, I should probably just forget about taking you in and shoot you now. Put you out of everypony’s misery. Pay you back for all the things you’ve done. End whatever sick crusade you’re on. Blow you right away. Pop. Done. No more Hurricane.”

Hurricane smirked. “If that be thy vision of justice, then shoot me, thou dastard.

“Dastard?” Care snarled. “Dastard this!

An empty click pattered around the room. Care looked down at her volleygun with eyes wide.

Hurricane leaped over her head and came down with her good wing. She slammed into the back of Care’s neck, dropping the captain instantly. A strong blow bashed Care’s chin against the floor.

The doors slammed open. Pegasus guards tromped into the castle in rows of five. They took to the air and ran along the ground, their spears searching for a foe. Hurricane backed away from the thrones before turning to gallop for the open window. She dove through into the darkness.

Royal Guards filled the castle, searching for any sign of danger or injury. One helped Care to her feet. She nestled into Applejack’s throne, just then noticing the pain in her forelegs from the burns, the ache in her muscles from her tussle with Zephyr, and the chipped bone in her chin.

Twilight Velvet opened her eyes. She met Care’s gaze. They stared at each other for a long moment. Too long.

“Care…” Velvet said. “Thanks.”

Care blinked back tears and nodded. Medics came in and tied Night Light to a stretcher, followed by Twilight Velvet. Sheets were draped over the two intruders that had died by Hurricane’s hoof. Shouts came from the upper levels of the castle: “I found another!” “This one’s alive!” “Somebody go outside and lower her to the ground!”

She sighed and waited for her turn to get treated.

Author's Note:

This is now, officially, my longest story. We're approaching the home stretch, so get ready for a bumpy ride.