• 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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Heart

Caution Tape marched down the crystalline hallway, his helmet tucked underneath his foreleg. He actively avoided looking at his reflection in the polished surfaces all around. He didn’t want to see what he already knew. He didn’t want to see the emptiness in his eyes.

Princess Celestia’s room was dead ahead, with two soldiers standing guard outside. Caution gave them a big smile; the type they’d come to expect from him. “Mornin’, mates. Oi’m here tah relieve you.”

Sturm and Drang turned as one. “Lieutenant, sir. Good morning,” Sturm said. “The forenoon watch?”

“The one and only.” Caution grinned. “Those lovely, lovely hours between breakfast and lunch.”

Drang moved away from the door, stretching his hind legs. “More power to you. I feel like I’ve been up all night.”

“You have been up all night.” Sturm flexed his wings, enchanted by his full armor to be colored white. “I can hear the bunks calling from here.”

“You two get yourselves tucked in b’fore you collapse from exhaustion.” Caution laughed and set his helmet atop his head. He secured the clasp with a swift, practiced movement. “Oi’ll keep up the vigil. Her Majesty’s in good hooves.”

Sturm nodded, but Drang held up a hoof. “Hold on. Where’s your partner?”

Caution felt his neck muscles seize up. He licked the inside of his teeth. “Partner?”

“Regulations state that there should be two guards together at all times.” Drang shrugged. “Is your second running late?”

Caution smiled. He shook his head and gripped his spear tighter. “Right you are, mate. I guess Corporal Drizzle got hisself turned around in this big old castle.”

“I’ll stick with you until the corporal catches up.” Sturm moved back to his position beside the door to Celestia’s chambers. “You go on ahead, Drang. I’ll be along in a minute or so.”

“Thanks, bud.” Drang waved to the both of them. “I’ll see you guys in the mess hall later.”

“Right you are, mate.” Caution stared straight ahead, his ears erect. He listened to Sturm’s movement as the other guard settled in. “Thanks for the help. Dunno what oi woulda told the boss-lady if oi hadn’t been following regulations.”

“No problem.” Sturm fell back into the old habits. He kept his face cool and his muscles relaxed but primed for action. His spear was held at the ready. His armor hummed faintly with magical energy. “We’ve got to keep each other accountable. Be there for each other, you know? This whole thing could fall apart if we don’t.”

“Don’t oi know it.” Caution reached a hoof out and laid it on Sturm’s shoulder. “Oi just wanted to say one thing, Sturm.”

Sturm turned with a small smile.

“Oi’m sorry.”

Caution flicked the clasp on Sturm’s helmet with a quick, familiar motion. Sturm’s smile dissolved along with the magic shield around his entire body. Before the pegasus could react, Caution beat him over the head with his spear-butt. Another strike followed it up, harder than the last.

Caution stood over his fallen victim, breathing heavily. The spear fell from numbed hooves and clattered to the ground. He kicked Celestia’s door open. He dragged the bleeding, unconscious guard inside and leaned him against the wall with his spear tucked under his wing. With a shuddering breath, Lieutenant Caution Tape of the Royal Guard slammed the door shut behind him.

He wiped sweat from his forehead. Small, uncertain steps took him to Celestia’s bedside. “Oi’m sorry, Princess.”

Her body was covered in medicinal drips and nutritional feeds. A mask covered her face, drawing oxygen from a pump and filling her lungs. Bandages covered the still-healing wound in her chest—a cavity that had yet to be filled. Her mane, once brilliant, flowing, ethereal hair was a dull pink. Her cheeks lay sunken beneath eyes that had been closed for over a month.

“It’s almost a favor oi’m doin’ for yah,” Caution whispered. “You’re all ready to die an’ they just won’t let yah.”

He picked his spear up. “You don’t need tah worry none. We’ve got your kingdom all nice an’ safe. We—we just gorra free the Master an’ we won’t even need an alicorn to raise the sun and moon. The Master… he can do it all hisself. He says he was meant to do it. So… so don’t worry none.”

Caution looked at his spear-point. He pulled his helmet from his head. “Sorry oi’m stallin’. Just don’t feel right finishin’ the job in full uniform, you know?”

His heart beat faster in his chest. He blinked rapidly. “It ain’t all bad, oi swear. Life ’ll go on. An’… an’ this is somethin’ oi need to do. This is somethin’ oi gorra do for her.”

He set his spear beside the bed, his chest heaving. He wiped the sweat from his snout. “You know what it’s like to do somethin’ terrible for the pony you love, right? That whole muck-an’-mire with the mirrors. You’ve made mistakes before. Just like all of us.”

He reached over and gently removed Celestia’s breathing mask. “Help me correct a mistake oi made long ago.”

***

Princess Celestia stared up at a night sky that was not her own. The stars were out of place. The clouds were black and sinister. The air held a breath-taking chill not felt since the old times.

The moon was marred by an ugly scar.

Celestia bit back a sob. Every time she saw the moon, it was a reminder of that night. That horrible night had almost lasted forever. And in a sense, perhaps it would, if only in her heart.

Princess Luna moved through the dreamscape to touch Celestia’s shoulder. “Do not despair, sister. These evil years are done. I am back.

Celestia never noticed her. She continued staring up at the silvery disk, discolored by the presence of a mare’s face. A blot on Luna’s record.

“I am back,” Luna said through clenched teeth, “and we need worry about that apparition no longer. Not so long as I have friends.”

“We failed, Clover,” Celestia said.

Luna took a step back. She turned to see a small, wrinkled, graying unicorn mare plod through the ruins of the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. The mare’s eyes shone bright through her dark hood. She stepped around a fallen pillar and touched a hoof to Celestia’s side.

Clover shook her wizened head. “It was not your fault, Celestia. Luna made her own choices.”

“I should have seen it.” Celestia’s majestic mane danced in the cold breeze. A snowflake alighted her snout before disappearing with her next breath. “I should have understood what she was feeling and fixed it.”

“You cannot fix people, Princess.” Clover lowered her face. “You are often merely left with the wreckage they leave behind.”

“It is over.” Celestia wiped her eyes. “Equestria, the Everfree, the unity of the tribes—it is all over. We failed to keep our dream alive.”

“No.” Clover took a step back and stared at the princess with level eyebrows. “One setback does not a failed model make—”

“It is not the one. It was never merely the one.” Celestia scuffed a hoof on the ground. “First we lost Platinum and the Crystal Empire, then Hurricane disappeared, then Puddinghead passed, then Pansy fell… Now Luna? We failed. The great experiment failed. How can I maintain unity between the tribes if I cannot maintain unity in my own house?

She surveyed the demolished courtroom. Stone pillars lay toppled, marble floors were uprooted, stained-glass windows lay scattered across the room. The roof had been completely caved in, making way for the moonlight to shine upon the pedestal that held five of the six Elements of Harmony. The five that remained.

The sixth had disappeared the instant Luna’s banishment began.

“No. Do not give up hope,” Luna whispered into the dream. “All is not lost, if only you remember.”

“How could this happen, Clover?” Celestia leaned against her decimated throne. “We were prophesied to unite the ponies, not divide them. Become the saviors of Equestria, not leave it torn asunder.”

Clover the Clever removed her hood. Her eyes lost their magenta glow, instead turning pale and sightless. She rubbed her reddish, gray-streaked braid and sucked in a deep breath. “No. You were not.”

Clover tilted her head back and recited from memory. “‘These are the words of Starswirl the Bearded, who received these visions from the King of the Universe. It was given to me personally by the Fae of the Seelie Court, that two ponies, of great stature and power, would rise up to free Equestria from its hatred and anger and bring about an era of true harmony and love. They ascended from humble beginnings, hailing from the smallest of cities, ponies of noble heart and fierce strength.’”

Tears poured freely from Clover’s eyes. “‘I saw a pony with eyes of lightning. Her heart was hard and strong with a yearning for justice. She carried the sun on her right wing, and the moon on her left. Fire rained from heaven and consumed her enemies, and all trembled at the sight of her.’”

Celestia crept closer, her teeth clenched. Her wings trembled at her sides.

Clover coughed. “‘I saw a second pony with eyes of shadow. Her heart was merry, though encased in a prison of stone. She carried the moon on her right wing, and the sun on her left. Darkness was her enemy and constant companion, but she would not surrender.’”

Her shoulders shook. “‘The sisters faced adversity and overcame it. They faced trial and tribulation, injury and grief, persecution and hatred. But through it all, they persevered. They ruled over the united ponies, protecting and guiding them, until the end of the age.’”

Celestia stood tall over Clover. Her face contorted to express emotion after emotion, never settling on one for long. She raised a hoof.

“‘And I saw that the sisters loved their little ponies greatly,’” Clover wept. “‘They cared for and watched over and protected their subjects, even to the point of death.’”

Celestia wrapped Clover in a warm hug. Their tears mingled in their coats.

“You are not the pony from the prophesy,” Clover said. “You couldn’t be. They never faltered, not for long. But it doesn’t matter. We need you. We need you more now than ever. We need a pony who can take charge and lead. Who can overcome the evil that is tearing our land asunder and pull it together into something great. We don’t need the prophesied alicorns right now; we need you.

Celestia looked through the shattered windows to the town, where she could see a small group of ponies packing up their meager belongings. They weren’t the only ones leaving the Everfree. As the once-prosperous land transformed into a tangled, misshapen forest, the ponies under Celestia’s rule set out for brighter lands. Only a few families remained, and even they were preparing for the journey ahead.

Celestia shivered. “If we are not the prophesied ones, then what are we?”

Clover sighed. She pulled away from Celestia and donned her hood. The enchantment on her eyes active once more, she beckoned for the princess to follow her. “There is something… I should have shown this to you many years ago.”

The dream faded around Luna. She swung her head around, focusing as best she could on anything that could keep her anchored in Celestia’s unconscious mind. She took hold of her sister’s wing with a foreleg.

Luna wrinkled her forehead. The dreams had not been that unstable since Celestia’s coma began. A smile crept across Luna’s face; perhaps she was closer to waking up than they thought.

They were in the darkest recesses of the palace, where Clover’s research laboratory lay. A hidden lever in the library revealed a sliding bookcase and a stairway that lead downward, deeper than the dungeons. Torches along the walls lit as Clover passed, a spell on her horn igniting them one by one. The narrow, spiraling stairwell opened up into a massive stone chamber.

Luna’s wings flared out. She skittered backwards. Three glass tubes stood tall in the center of the room, dark and cold. Machines chittered and whirred against the far wall. A podium sat before them, holding a thick, blood-chilling book.

“Clover,” Celestia hissed, “it has been many years since the Crystal Empire disappeared, but I still see the design of Sombra’s laboratory in my nightmares. Why have you replicated it?”

“I…” Clover turned away. “I have completed his work, save for that which required the sacrifice of my most treasured morals. I never murdered ponies in my pursuit of… of immortality. I refused to.”

She rested her hoof on the dusty book. “This tome contains the sum total of the knowledge Sombra, Hurricane, and I have collected over our lifetimes. Every step taken in pursuit of ascension is recorded. Every mishap… and every success.”

Luna looked over Celestia’s shoulder. “The Grimoire Alicorn? The book that was stolen!”

“This will tell you what you are, and how you came to be.” Clover wiped her eyes. “But only you can decide who you are.”

Celestia frowned as she held the tome to her chest. She shut her eyes. “I shall read it, but what—?”

Luna shrieked as Celestia and Clover dissolved into mist. The rest of the dream soon followed, transforming into a quagmire of roiling clouds and the thump of a heavy heartbeat. Lightning flashed to either side of Luna as wind pulled her every which way. She lit her horn and shot a spell into the depths of the dream, seeking an exit.

In the next moment, Luna came awake. The sun sat high over the morning skies of Canterlot, peeking through the drifting cascades of Cloudsdale. The airborne city-state approached Canter Mountain slowly but surely, bringing winter with it.

The dream hadn’t ended with Celestia’s wakefulness, Luna realized, but something far more dangerous. She yanked a rope hanging in the center of the room, sending loud peals from the Dream’s Keep’s alarm bell. “Guards! Guards!”

Two soldiers rushed in, ready to fight. They bowed when they saw Luna alone. “Your Majesty?”

“Bring me the scribes! All of them! Any of them!” Luna gripped one guard by the shoulders and lifted him off the ground. “We must send a message to the Crystal Empire! Celestia is in grave danger!”

***

“Two days?” Blueblood snapped. “What do you mean two days? She doesn’t have two hours!”

Cadence rubbed her forehead, resisting the urge to face-plant in her oatmeal. “She has the whole rest of the week before she even starts fading, Cousin. Two days is plenty of time for the heart to arrive.”

“It’s plenty of time for what magic is still within her to run dry.” Blueblood sniffed and threw back a bitter tonic. “There has to be some sort of safeguard.”

Silver Lance popped his head up. “What about using the Crystal Heart? That has magic.”

“First of all, that’s stupid,” Twilight Amore said. “Second of all, it’s too big. It wouldn’t even fit in her chest cavity. Third of all—”

“Third of all stop fighting, Twilie.” Shining Armor leaned his foreleg on the table. “Fourth of all, Lance, stop enabling your cousin.”

“What’s that mean?” Silver asked.

Cadence cleared her throat. “It means something not nice, so don’t say it.”

“It means we should get our minds on something besides Aunt Celestia.” Shining Armor’s playful smirk was met with a deadpan stare from Cadence. He shrugged and went back to his oatmeal. “But mind your mother. She’s right about not saying that to ponies.”

Cadence rolled her eyes. She turned to Fleur de Lis, who had eaten her entire meal in complete silence. “Fleur, how are things going?”

Fleur stared at her empty bowl, her mane hanging before her face. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Right.” Cadence blew a breath through her lips. She clicked her tongue and craned her neck towards Amore. “Oh, Twilight, your wings…”

Twilight Amore folded her wings tighter against her side and blushed. “I was going to preen after breakfast.”

“That’s what you said last—” Cadence sighed. “Come to the throne room after we’re done. I’ll help you clean your feathers.”

“Aw…”

Blueblood snorted. He pushed his chair from the table. “I’m going to visit my dying aunt. Any objections?”

Fleur didn’t look up. Cadence and Shining exchanged a glance before the prince waved him off. “Go for it. See you at lunch time,” Shining said.

“Thank you.” Blueblood tapped his teeth together. “And yes, see you then.”

***

Caution expanded his armored chest with a deep breath. He had shut off the pulse monitor before unplugging it, keeping its alarms silent. The IV bag hung uselessly from its stand, dripping life-giving ambrosia on the crystal floor. Celestia grew paler as he watched, all but shriveling into a husk.

“You’re going home,” he said. “You’ll see your friends. Your family; or whatever immortal alicorns count as one. There’ll be peace in your life.” He nodded to himself. “This is a good thing.”

He lowered his head and grinned. “An’ they’ll finally let me see my love again. Oi’ll be with her forever, Celestia. She’s so beautiful. Her lavender coat. Her piercing eyes. That dark smile that’s just nothin’ but brilliant. The voice of an angel. She’s been gone so long…”

He rubbed Celestia’s pale, pink mane. “So sleep tight, Princess. Rest well until the time when all awaken. Oi promise, oi’ll keep the kingdom sa—”

The door slammed open, accompanied by an indignant shout. “Where in the name of Tartarus are the guards?

Caution spun around, kicking his spear into a waiting foreleg. He held it at the ready, one hoof outstretched to aim. He zeroed in on Prince Blueblood, who stood stock-still in the doorway, his mouth agape. The prince shook his head, blinking rapidly at the impossibility before him.

“What…” Blueblood grabbed his blue bowtie and loosened it. A sob stuck in his throat. “What have you done?”

Caution gritted his teeth. “Made a choice.”

He launched the spear. It sung as it sped on its way to Blueblood’s heart. The prince jumped aside, but the blade sank deep into his left foreleg. A cry leapt from Blueblood’s chest as he curled up.

Caution charged. He flew over Blueblood’s head with a strong leap. A spell from the prince’s horn grasped his legs and stopped him short. The guard’s chin smacked into the floor, chipping a tooth.

With a grunt, Caution stood up. He grasped the spear in a foreleg and twisted it. He placed his other hoof on Blueblood’s head to hold him down. “You might not have wanted to do that, Your Highness.”

Blueblood’s leg screamed, and he screamed back. His head pounded, his stomach churned, and his heart thundered. Tears spilled down his cheeks, mingling with the blood on the ground. Pressure built as the guard pressed down.

“He—glurgh!” He jolted as Caution aimed a kick at his stomach and cut off his shout. He couldn’t move, much less fight. He glanced around for something, anything, to help. He saw the pooling ambrosia, he saw the silent monitors, he saw the dying alicorn princess on the bed…

He saw the other guard’s spear.

A hasty spell yanked it across the room to slash Caution across the face. The massive earth pony reeled back and released Blueblood. The prince jumped up and bucked his hind legs, catching Caution across the nose.

Caution grunted and bucked with his own powerful hind legs. Prince Blueblood careened across the room.

The guardspony held a hoof to his bleeding face. He teetered before picking up his helmet. He set it upon his head and marched down the hallway. He had minutes to reach the getaway vehicle before somepony knew something was wrong. He cursed to himself when he realized he’d left his spear embedded in Blueblood’s leg. Caution doubled his pace, turning to a spiraling stairwell.

***

Blueblood came to and immediately wished he had not. He could barely see through the searing pain behind his eyes. His chest was bruised from the impact of two hooves. He could barely feel his left foreleg.

Even with all that, Princess Celestia still looked worse.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” Sturm asked, nursing a head injury of his own. “Can you stand?”

“Don’t worry about me!” Blueblood pushed the guard away. “See to Celestia! Help Celestia! Do something!”

“I—I tried, sir.” Sturm’s throat bobbed. He pressed his hooves against Blueblood’s shoulders. “Please, lie down. There’s… I can’t feel a pulse, and she doesn’t have a heart… I can’t even perform CPR—”

“To blazes with hearts!” Blueblood roared. He staggered over to the bed and pressed down on Celestia’s bandaged chest. “We have to try! There has to be something!”

Sturm’s lips trembled. “But sir—”

“Get the doctor!” Blueblood’s voice rose to a shrill scream. “Tell him to think of something! Get Shining and Cadence! Get anybody who could do anything!

Sturm flinched back. He held up a hoof. “But—”

Now!” Blueblood screeched. He pounded his hooves, punctuating each word. “Go, go, go, go!

***

Caution Tape pushed past a housekeeper, almost knocking her off her feet. He would have apologized under normal circumstances. The circumstances he found himself in, however, were anything but. He avoided eye-contact with everypony. He stared straight ahead and marched straight ahead.

“Lieutenant, your face!”

Caution hesitated for a beat, just long enough for Drang to catch up with him. The younger guard had discarded his armor for a simple band around his foreleg. “What happened? Was there an accident?”

“Just a minor one,” Caution said. “Barely a scratch. Oi’m just headed for the—”

“A scratch!” Drang gripped Caution’s shoulder hard enough to slow him. “Sir, have you seen your eye?”

“Wha—?” Caution was turned towards the polished crystalline wall. He saw himself fully, from his hooves to his mane. His armor glistened, his muscles flexed, his tail swished.

An ugly cut traced across his muzzle, ending just under his left eye. The once-green shimmer of its iris had been clouded over by a red deep enough to match his coat.

Caution licked his bleeding lips. “That’s gonna affect the ol’ depth-perception.”

“You can say that again!” Drang gripped him tight. “You’re going right to the infirmary. You can file an accident report after the damage is repaired. A little ambrosia and some reconstructive surgery ought to—”

Caution took off at a gallop.

Drang stared wide-eyed as his commanding officer made a run for it. He shook his head and followed him, his legs aching. “Sir, I don’t understand! Sir! Caution, stop!”

***

Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor charged into Celestia’s room. Cadence stopped up short and covered her mouth. “Oh, dear Creator, no!”

“What happened, Sturm?” Shining nodded to the guard. “Who did this? Where is he?”

“It was Lieutenant Caution Tape, Your Highness.” Sturm glanced at Blueblood’s pitiful attempts at CPR and swallowed. “He deactivated my armor and knocked me out. When I came to, I saw… this. I don’t know where he went. He could be anywhere.”

Shining Armor growled from the pit of his stomach. His horn charged with magic, glowing pure white. “He can only be one place at a time.”

The Prince of the Crystal Empire vanished in a shower of pink sparks.

Blueblood fell to his rump. His forelegs shook from the constant effort. “Cadence! Help, please!”

“I… I don’t…” Cadence reached out a hoof to touch Celestia’s pale cheek. “I don’t know how.”

“Where’s the blooming doctor?” Blueblood hissed, his voice hoarse. “Can’t he think up something?”

“We haven’t been able to find him, Your Highness,” Sturm said. He heaved a sigh and let his shoulders slump. “I… I’m afraid we’ve lost her… It’s not possible.”

“Rut the impossible!” Blueblood slapped his good hoof on the ground. He followed it up with another. “And rut giving up! There has to be something… we haven’t tried?”

Something sparked in Blueblood’s eyes. He lifted his head with bitter determination. “Cadence… Aunt Celestia is dying because she is running out of magic. Correct?”

Cadence shut her eyes tight. “Yes, Blue. That and her heart. She’s just…” Her wings drooped. “I wasn’t supposed to have to say goodbye to her.

“Focus!” Blueblood leapt to his feet and fell flat on his face. He struggled his way upward. “What if we could pump her full of magic? More magic than anypony would need in their lifetime?”

“What do—?” Cadence gasped. She shook her head violently. “No! No you can’t! I won’t allow it in my kingdom!”

“No, Cadence, please.” He reached for her hoof. “Hear me out—”

“Blueblood, that much magic blew Sombra to pieces!” She slapped him away. “I won’t let you do the exact same thing to my aunt!”

“She’s already dead!” Blueblood sobbed. “She’s already dead and blowing her up won’t make her any deader. It has a chance of working! It has the slimmest, slightest, most threadbare chance of working imaginable, but it’s a chance. It’s a chance she doesn’t have otherwise. We have to use the Crystal Heart.”

Silver popped his head into the room, followed closely by Amore. “Did I hear somebody’s trying the Crystal Heart idea? Told you it wasn’t stupid.”

“It is so!” Twilight Amore declared. She folded her wings pristinely against her back. “It’s very dumb.”

Cadence wiped her face with a feather. “Kids, you can’t be here. Go play, please—”

“No, wait.” Blueblood all but dragged himself over to the children. He raised his head to look them in the eyes. They held their breath as they took in his injuries. “Lance, Amore,” Blueblood said, “we need your help to save Celestia. Go into the city and tell everypony to meet in the castle square. We’re activating the Crystal Heart and we need everybody. Take as many of the castle staff as you can find. We need everypony. Everypony.

Silver Lance shuffled his hooves. “Is this gonna make Aunt Celestia feel better?”

“It might.” Blueblood touched the young colt’s shoulder. “It very well may, and that’s a chance we have to take.”

Twilight Amore look up to her mother. Cadence moved her mouth for a long moment before the words came out. “Go,” she said. “Do as Cousin Blueblood said. Fly as fast as you can. Lance, you go to the barracks. Amore, you start with the kitchen. Get all the staff to help. I’ll move Auntie to the courtyard.”

“Yes, momma,” the kids said in unison. They scampered off as fast as their short legs could carry them.

Cadence flicked her horn at Sturm. “Help me with the bed.”

Blueblood held his injured foreleg against his chest. He followed behind the two ponies as they wheeled the bed towards a magic-powered elevator. He allowed a hint of hope to well up in his heart.

But only a hint.

***

Caution ran past the Crystal Heart. He ran past the pillars holding the Crystal Palace up. He ran past the crowds of people sightseeing and going about their business in the massive city surrounding the heart of the Empire. He could still sense Drang following him by the guard’s occasional shouts and apologies. He had to lose the younger stallion. He had to get away.

The waiting carriage was just the ticket.

The vehicle was pitch-black, with a nondescript stallion secured to the harness. The carriage was carved from wood with a careful hoof, depicting all sorts of vile creatures and mythical monsters. Grotesques, chimeras, venomous snakes, and cockatrices battled for dominance amidst the side panels.

Caution let out a sigh of relief. The Maid had come for him, as promised.

His nose bumped against a pink bubble. The crowd backed away with nervous looks on their faces. Magic shimmered all around, filling the air with warmth and energy.

The carriage pulled away before Caution could blink.

“Traitor!” came a voice from behind Caution. Shining Armor stood tall in the bubble of magic, his horn alight with power. “You heaping pile of steaming horseapples.”

The prince was in full armor. His helmet glistened with gold and royal purple. His chest plate held the same symbol found in his cutie mark, securing a sash to his chest. Greaves protected his legs, while metal boots covered his hooves.

“You just tried to assassinate one of the most beloved ponies in the world.” Shining Armor pulled a javelin from a quiver on his back. “Did you actually think you could get away with it? Why in the world would you do such a thing?”

Caution cracked his neck. He had seen Shining Armor’s shield hold up to an entire army of changelings, but it had fallen… once Shining was defeated. He watched as Shining Armor shot a spell into the shield to reinforce its strength.

Caution wasn’t getting out until the spell-caster had been taken down, but neither was the prince. “Lemme ask you somethin’, Your Highness: What do you think is worth it?”

Shining Armor snarled. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Now, see—” Caution rolled his shoulders and squared his hooves. “—you’d be singin’ a different tune if it was your love on the line.”

“That’s the thing, Caution.” Shining Armor gave his spell another charge. “My sister almost died. My mother and father are in the hospital. My little bro is depressed. You’re trying to tell me the people I love aren’t on the line?”

Caution Tape raised his hooves, ready to intercept an attack. “Oi’m sorry. Oi just wanted—”

“You’ve messed with the Sparkle family, dude; you and all your buddies.” Shining hefted his double-pointed javelin. “Don’t make me enjoy this any more than I have to!”

Shining jabbed, but Caution knocked the tip aside. The earth pony guard followed up with a swift series of punches. Shining ducked under them and butted his head against Caution’s chest. Magic sparked between them as their armors’ shields scraped across each other. Shining nailed his opponent with the point of his weapon. It bounced away from the enchantment.

Caution grabbed Shining around the neck. He twisted his body around and threw the prince to the ground. A kick flung the javelin to the far end of the magic bubble. Shining took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet, picking Caution off the ground. The traitor smashed his hooves into Shining’s back with a metal-crunching, magic-shattering blow.

Shining hit the ground, his armor sputtering in the wake of the impact. Before he could stand, he was launched into the shimmering bubble enclosing the battle. His teeth rattled from the impact.

“If you let down the barrier,” Caution said, “oi’m willin’ tah walk away.”

Shining Armor’s battered armor hummed back to life. “Fat chance.”

***

Twilight Amore flew above the ponies milling through the market place. She waved her hooves as she went, shouting at the top of her lungs. “Everypony to the square! Everypony get to the town square!”

Silver Lance zipped around, between, and under ponies, shaking their legs or grabbing their shoulders. “We need to activate the Crystal Heart! Celestia needs us!”

The crystal ponies muttered amongst themselves, but they headed for the Crystal Palace all the same. Amore stopped to catch her breath and landed on a nearby kiosk. “Is that everypony?”

Silver craned his neck. “Everypony who can run. Or… everypony who wants to help.”

Twilight Amore dropped to her rump. “Where do we go next? The library or the train station?”

“Sturm said he’d go to the train station.” Silver jogged in place. His breath came out of his mouth in a fog. “If we go to the library, we’ll be able to loop back to the square in about five minutes.”

Amore rubbed her dark mane. “Will we be in time?”

“Sure.” Silver Lance bobbed his head and leaped his way towards the east end of town. “No problem.”

“You’re too confident.” Amore stretched the wings she had just finished grooming. “I’m too old to be that confident.”

“You’re only a year older than me!”

“That’s way older!”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is…” Silver skidded to a halt. His eyes fell on a pink bubble standing out from the glistening crystal all around. His eyes followed the two ponies inside. “Dad?”

Shining Armor’s head snapped towards Silver and Amore. His jaw dropped.

Caution’s hoof threw him backwards.

“Dad!” Silver slipped on a patch of ice before finding his footing. He raced to the edge of the magic bubble and pressed his hooves against it. “Look out!”

Caution wiped spittle from his mouth. “Think about it, Armor. Don’t let your kids see their dad get hurt like this.”

Shining twirled his javelin around his foreleg, bringing it to a stop aimed at Caution’s heart. “Good thing that’s not gonna happen.”

Caution cracked his neck, then two of his knees. “Aw’right, then.”

They charged at each other while the children looked on.

***

Cadence pushed Celestia’s hospital bed into the courtyard beneath the palace. The guards set up a perimeter around the Crystal Heart, loading crossbows and gripping spears. Cadence brushed a hoof across her aunt’s face, silently praying.

Blueblood hobbled along beside her, his normally-slick suit wrinkled and bloody. He shook his mane. “This is it. The moment of truth.”

“How is this even supposed to work?” Cadence whispered. “We’ve only ever used the heart to protect the Empire.”

“I can’t think of a better way to do just that.” Blueblood waved at an oncoming group of ponies. “There they are! The citizens are here! Say something, Cadence!”

“I…” Cadence nodded. She spread her wings and lifted a hoof. “My little ponies! High Princess Celestia has once again come under fire! We need to rally to her side to set things right!”

A murmur arose. The ponies turned to each other, questions on their lips.

“How are we supposed to help Celestia?”

“Did you even know she was here?”

“What can I do?”

“I’m just on vacation!”

Cadence lowered her ears. “Everypony, please calm down! We need to charge the Crystal Heart. Its magic may be the only thing that can save her!”

“Stoop thees instant!”

Blueblood whipped his head around. Fleur ran up to him, Dr. Summerwind seated on her back. The breezie fluttered his way over to Celestia and settled himself on her brow. “Are eyew booth insane?” he snapped. “Thees most assuredly will destroy her completely! There is noo way to refill her magic wit’out blowing her fairy strings to pieces and her with them!”

Fleur rested a hoof on her husband’s shoulder. “Blueblood, please. It’s over. There’s nothing more we can—”

“No! No, I refuse to give up like this!” Blueblood let the exhaustion in his chest drag him to the ground. He stared at Celestia’s cold, ravaged body with blood-shot eyes. “I can’t let it end like this. I don’t want to have to remember her like this.”

The ponies around the square fell silent, shuffling their hooves uncomfortably. Coughs, small whimpers, and muttered questions broke the stillness.

Blueblood started at a warmth against his side. He sighed as his wife pressed her cheek against his. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I wanted to believe there was hope. None of us would be here if not for her.”

“That’s true,” Cadence said. “None of us would.”

She extended a wing to the crowd. “None of us would be here if not for Celestia. Not me, not Blueblood, not my children… and not you, people of the Crystal Empire! Every single one of us owes our lives and livelihoods to this one mare. She, who never gave up searching for us. She, who never faltered in leading us. She, who greeted every morning with hope in her heart!”

Cadence flapped her wings until she hovered above the gathered creatures. “And now, she has a greater need than ever before! She is hurt to the point of death, my little ponies, but there is still hope! There is this one last, slim chance that we can restore her, that we can pay her back for all she’s given to us! If we unite in our hearts and our actions, if unity and harmony can spread throughout the city, then we could yet restore life to our princess!”

Tears fell from Blueblood’s face. He sobbed openly in the castle courtyard, with Fleur holding his hoof tight. She gave him a faint, reassuring squeeze.

“Now is the time, Equestrians, crystal ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, and donkeys of the Crystal Empire!” Cadence directed her lit horn towards the spinning Crystal Heart. “Pour all your love and adoration into the Crystal Heart. Grasp at this last chance, my little ponies! Give it everything you have! Now!”

Several ponies bowed instantly, while many others followed in short order. A few stragglers stared with gaping mouths as the courtyard lit up from beneath with blue light. Energy coursed through the air and crackled in the crystalline pathways built into the town square. The light led to the heart of the empire, the center of the castle, to the Crystal Heart itself. It spun faster than the eye could see, and glowed brighter than the eye could stand.

Summerwind leapt from Celelstia’s body. He flew behind one of the four pillars and peered around the edge, his long, curly beard flapping in the strong gusts. “I dun’t think thees is medically sound.”

Lightning leapt from the Heart to strike Celestia. Yellow pathways etched themselves across her body, from her hooves to her wings to her horn. Blueblood jumped up with a shout, but Fleur held him back.

Cadence gritted her teeth, focusing on her horn with all her might. The strain gripped her heart and drained her of strength. She glanced to the left and right, noting that other ponies were growing tired as well. “Stand strong! Keep it up! We cannot give up now! We will not give up!”

The golden lines of magic met at Celestia’s chest. A thrum rang in Blueblood’s eardrums. “Auntie! Get up! Get up!

The thrum paused. The energy died down. Several ponies slumped to the ground. Cadence’s legs shook as she cut off her own magic flow.

Blueblood pulled away from Fleur and ran to his aunt’s side. She shimmered with the magic shining from her fairy strings. “Auntie Celestia? Can you hear—?”

He was thrown back by an earth-shaking blast. The courtyard blazed with fire.

He lay on his back, his coat singed and his mane blackened with soot. He rolled onto his side, but a sharp pain in his leg sent him falling backwards. The flames licked at his tail, the heat burned his skin, and the light stabbed his pained skull.

Cadence held a hoof to her face. The burning, crackling courtyard was hot, but the temperature was dropping. The fire was dying. She moved through the flames and past the motionless Crystal Heart to reach her cousin’s side. She reached out a hoof and pulled him up. Their eyes met.

Cadence lowered her muzzle. “I’m sorry.”

Blueblood buried his head in her chest. The cousins hugged each other tight, smoke flowing around their bodies.

“My little ponies, why are you crying?”

The breath caught in Blueblood’s throat. The last of the flames in the courtyard had died down, but it was still filled with sunlit magic. A tall pony walked towards them, her wings outstretched, her white coat glistening.

“A…” Cadence rubbed ash from her eyes. “A pony very dear to us—we thought you were—is it really you?

As the seconds ticked past, the mare’s coat grew a little paler, a shade dimmer. Her bright, purple eyes twinkled. “I hope so; otherwise it’s going to be really awkward when I start getting ‘get well soon’ cards.”

***

Caution’s heavy hoof crashed into the paved road, sending hairline cracks running across its surface where Shining Armor’s head had been. The prince jabbed at the traitor’s side, but he shrugged off every blow. They circled, each seeking an opening.

“Dad!” Amore screeched. “Duck!”

Shining moved underneath a powerful, metal-shod hoof. He jabbed upwards, catching Caution across the chin.

“Use a right hook, dad!” Silver said. “Hit his blind spot!”

“He’s gonna be expecting that now!” Shining Armor kicked his back legs out and knocked Caution against the bubble. He swung the javelin, but the earth pony caught it in his mouth. A powerful bite snapped the weapon in half.

Shining Armor jumped away. He spoke out of the side of his mouth. “Any suggestions, guys?”

“Don’t let him hit you!” Twilight Amore piped up.

“And hit him really, really hard!” Silver Lance added.

Shining Armor cracked a smile. “I’m proud of you guys.”

The prince spun away before Caution’s punch could reach him. It sent ripples running across the surface of the bubble. “For the love of pony, Armor!” Caution tromped after his opponent. “Stand tall an’ fight like a stallion!”

“If you were a smart guy,” Shining Armor said, hopping from hoof to hoof, “you’d have realized several things.”

Caution lunged shoulder-first. Shining rolled alongside him and shoved him away.

“One.” Shining Armor kicked Caution’s bad eye. “A real stallion thinks about why he’s fighting and who he’s fighting.”

“Shut up!” Caution swung wide and hit thin air.

“Two.” Shining laid into the guard’s knee with a rapid-fire series of chops. “A real stallion thinks about where he’s fighting and uses that to his advantage.”

Silver Lance glanced away from the fight. He let out a whoop.

Caution snatched the sides of Shining’s head and lifted him onto his hind legs. “All you had to do was let me go. Nopony else needed to be hurt today, you unnerstand? ”

“Three,” Shining grunted. “A real stallion knows when he’s outmatched.”

A spell shot from the tip of the prince’s horn and struck the bubble of pink magic. It shattered, the shards raining down before evaporating into pixie dust. Caution threw Shining to the ground and spun on his rear hooves.

He found himself facing twenty loaded crossbows.

Shining Armor dusted off his uniform. He saluted the Royal Guardsponies surrounding the makeshift arena. “Four, a real stallion never has to fight alone.”

Caution glanced around for any sign of the Maid’s carriage. He only saw soldiers, deadly weapons, and stern faces. He scowled at the prince. “Yeah. Oi guess so.”

He unclipped his helmet and let the enchantment drain away. He lay down with his legs spread. “Oi surrender.”

Shining nodded to the guards. They charged in with cuffs and chains at the ready. Amore and Silver leaped onto his back, hugging his neck and cheering aloud. Shining rubbed their heads and kissed their cheeks, carrying them with ease.

Caution rested his chin on the pavement. “Oi’m sorry, Aria,” he whispered. “Oi ain’t givin’ up yet, though.”

***

Blueblood rushed up to Celestia and all but tackled her with a hug. He winced at the sharp pain in his leg, but he didn’t dare let go. “Auntie Celestia! You’re back!”

The iridescence in Celestia’s coat faded completely away, revealing her sunken cheeks and pale pink mane. She wrapped her forelegs around Blueblood and nuzzled his ears. “Yes, Blueblood. Thanks in large part to you.” She lifted her head and smiled at the ponies gathered around. “Thank you all!”

A cheer rose up to answer her. Ponies danced, sang, and shouted aloud. Several city-wide parties entered their planning stages.

Celestia let out a whoosh of breath and tottered. Cadence caught her in a firm grip. The High Princess of Equestria blink owlishly before shaking her head. “I don’t think I’m quite up to my usual strength.”

“Eyew need rest,” Summerwind said, fluttering up and wagging a hoof at her. “Get to bed thees very instant! We hev tests to run! Blood to sample! A heart to examine! Et’s… et’s noot every day somepony comes back froom the dead.”

Celestia frowned. She touched the scar on her chest, right over her heart. “Hurricane. Oh no.” She reached out to grasp Cadence’s wingtip. “I need to speak with Luna. Now.”

“We’ll get the radio set up.” Cadence lead her to the hospital bed and gently pushed her into it. “I get the feeling she really needs to hear from you right now. Along with all the other ponies in Equestria.”

Celestia wrinkled her forehead and rested against the pillow. As she was rolled back into the castle by armed guards, she let her ears fall back against her scalp. “Cadence, how long was I asleep?”

Cadence’s face fell. “About five weeks.”

Celestia pursed her lips. “Make the radio call a priority. We are all in grave danger once word of my condition gets out.”

“Why?” Cadence trotted after the rolling bed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that if my mother is still angry after all these years,” Celestia said, “she’s not going to stop until everything I love is dead.”

Cadence froze mid-step. “I think we both have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Yes,” Celestia sighed. She rubbed her scar, her face scrunching up with pain. “Oog. Yes we do.”

***

Blueblood leaned back against one of the four pillars holding the Crystal Palace in place. The Crystal Heart turned once more, though at a far slower pace. He clutched the darkened remains of his blue bowtie to his chest, ignoring the missing patches in his coat.

Fleur de Lis shuffled up to him. She blew her always-perfect mane away from her mouth. “I was right, you know.”

He let out a groan and lidded his eyes. “Right about what, exactly?”

“You can take charge, when the situation warrants it.” Fleur sat before him, her forelegs folded. “Or when nopony else thinks to take charge, at least.”

“Mm.” Blueblood shrugged. “Almost as well as Cadence did.”

Fleur rolled her head back, shutting her eyes. “Stop comparing yourself to—”

“I know.” Blueblood clicked his tongue. “I—I’m not her, and I never will be.”

He chuckled. “Still, we would have lost Auntie if I hadn’t dragged everypony into this. Perhaps I can make a contribution after all.”

“That’s right.” Fleur rubbed her leg. “That’s very right.”

Blueblood frowned at her. He tilted his head to the side. “I suppose everything’s right with the world, now that she’s okay.”

“I… I don’t know, Husband.” Fleur brushed a lock of mane behind her ear. “Did you see the way Celestia grabbed her chest? She’s still in so much pain… I hope—” She waved her foreleg. “Never mind. She’ll be fine, yes? Simply fine. I’m just—”

She grabbed his hooves and held them to her chest. “I’m just glad that you stepped up today. That was a very brave thing you did, saying ‘yes’ when everypony else was certain the answer was ‘no.’”

“Shining Armor called it ‘bullheadedness,’” Blueblood said. “And then he slapped my back, which I believe is code for ‘good job, buddy-boy.’”

Fleur giggled. She kissed his hoof. “I want you to remember this day. I want you to remember you aren’t useless. You have a higher calling, and there are some things only you can do.”

“Perhaps.” Blueblood swished his burnt tail back and forth. “Fleur… why are you doing this?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you care so much that I take responsibility?” Blueblood shifted his foreleg in its sling. “We could live our lives comfortably until the end of time, and never lift a hoof. We don’t need to do any more than that.”

“No.” Fleur glanced at her hooves. Her knees shook. “But—but life without something to strive for becomes devoid of joy. There’s something… important I have to tell you.”

“I suppose it felt good to have contributed.” Blueblood wrinkled his nose. “Once I got over the pain in my leg. And the burns. And the general silliness of losing my composure in front of the populace. Other than that, it is so good to have Auntie back.”

He blinked, and flicked his ears downward. “B—but enough about me. You have something to share, and I should learn to stop interrupting. What is it?”

Fleur shifted where she sat, moving closer to him. She took a heavy breath, followed by another. “Our relationship has been… I believe ‘strained’ is the word for it, the past few years. I’d hoped that you taking responsibility might assist in that, but…”

She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, how do I say this without sounding like an idiot?”

“You are at least in good company in that regard.” Blueblood looped his good leg around her shoulders. “Steady on, my lovely wife. Be as blunt as you like and spare no detail.”

Fleur smirked as a blush spread across her cheeks. “Yes, there is the stallion I fell in love with. Unafraid of speaking his mind.”

“Happy to oblige.” He waved her on.

“I wanted to… I wanted our relationship restored. No more uncertainty. No more anxiety. No more cold nights and colder looks.” Fleur leaned against Blueblood. “Because I want our child to have strong, loving parents who will always be there for them.”

Blueblood’s mouth popped open. His eyes went wide as his pupils dilated. “You mean you’re—?”

Fleur nodded, her teeth showing through her tight-lipped smile.

Blueblood blinked. “And I’m going to be a—?”

“I found out just before you took Celestia and Twilight to the Crystal Empire.” She touched his chest. “I came here to tell you, but things kept getting in the way and I thought—”

Blueblood brought her close for a deep, long, breathless kiss. He ran his hoof up and down her back as she looped her forelegs around his neck.

When the time finally came for their lips to part, Blueblood let out a quiet laugh. “S-seems I’m crying tears of all sorts today. Fleur, I can barely believe it.”

“I can.” Fleur gave him a peck on the tip of his nose. “I’m starting to get cravings for pumpernickel, and I despise pumpernickel.”

Blueblood let his head thump against the pillar. He held his wife close as the Crystal Heart shimmered in the deepening night.

She shut her eyes and sighed. “I was so afraid of this moment.”

“I’m sorry,” Blueblood said. “That was my fault.”

“Half your fault. I was just as much to blame.” She traced her hoof around a bare patch in his coat. “I didn’t love you like I should.”

“I resolve to change that now.” Blueblood stomped a hoof. He winced. “Ow. I resolve to be a loving husband and father. For both our sakes.” He placed his foreleg against her stomach. “And the little one’s.”

She brought her lips close to his. “I love you, Prince Blueblood.”

“I love you, too, Princess Fleur de Lis.”