• 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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Broken

“Haven’t you reached the Crystal Empire yet?

The radio operator shied away from Princess Luna’s shout. He opted to wiggle a knob around just to look as though he was actually doing something useful. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but there are several connections we need to make between here and the Frozen North. It could still be several minutes before we get a return message.”

“What good are radios?” Luna snapped. She spun away with a flick of her wings. “If I sent a letter via Pony Express Mail, I would at least have something tangible to track.”

The communications center of Canterlot Castle was a complex network of wires, switchboards, mailboxes, and stressed-out ponies. Even the most ornate decorative pillars couldn’t soften the electric tension that was infused into the daily life of an operator. Ponies didn’t like to hear that their message hadn’t already been delivered.

Luna leaned over his shoulder, her voice barely a whisper. “Not a peep? Anything?”

The radio operator clenched his diaphragm. “No.”

“I would have more luck sending it via dragonfire from a hibernating beast!” Luna’s stomp rattled the nearby desks. “What does it take for ponies to understand that my sister is in danger?”

The radio operator let out a dizzying sigh as his board made a little beep. “Thank the Maker, it’s an answer—”

Luna pushed his rolling chair away, sending him careening across the room. She stuffed the headphones over her ears and tapped the control panel. “Hello, operator? Operator? Give me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire! Operator? Operator, can you hear me? This is your High Princess Luna speaking! Operator, give me—”

“Luna,” a laughing voice on the other side said, “chill.”

Luna’s wings drooped. She glared at the radio as if the other pony could see her. “I am none too fond of the informal tone which you are using, operator. I would speak with your supervisor if I were not pressed for time—”

“Luna, listen. To me. Listen to me.”

Luna huffed. “You have thirty seconds before I drop a moon on your desk—”

Wake up and see the rising morning light…

Luna opened her mouth to retort, but stopped short. She raised the volume of her headphones.

It stands so tall, a symbol of our might…

Luna briefly muted her microphone and shooed the radio operator away. He lowered his eyebrows, walking off to look into another operator’s station.

Freedom from the chains of evildoers is our right
And so we wake and see the rising morning light

Luna wiped her eyes. Her mouth turned upwards as she sang softly in return.

Awake and see the rising morning light
Her sun comes to banish all the shadows of the night
Daylight reveals the furthest depths and greatest height
Awake, my friends, for the rising morning light

Luna fell to her haunches and shut her eyes, her muscles relaxing from her shoulders to her hooves. “Is it really you, sister?”

“I’m here, Luna. I’m awake.” Celestia’s voice crackled as the signal weakened momentarily. “I love you.”

“I love you so much, Celestia.” Luna rested her forelegs against the desk. She laughed lightly and blinked away the residual tears on her eyelashes. “How is this possible? Has the new heart come already? Is the surgery that much of a success?”

“That…” Celestia paused. “That is a long story, Luna. Many things have happened, and many more things must happen before we can call this trial over with. There are things you must know about Hurricane—”

“I know about Hurricane,” Luna said. “I know about who she is. I know who she is to us. And it is not important right now. What is important is that you are well.”

“It isn’t that simple, my beloved sister.” Celestia’s voice warbled. Luna couldn’t tell if it was from signal loss or her sister’s voice. “I am not well. Not at all. And none of us is safe as long as Hurricane still waits in the shadows.”

“I know.” Luna paced away from the desk. Her head jerked back when she reached the end of her headset’s wire. She glared at the offending device. “I have assembled a team to deal with her.”

“And?”

“And…” Luna wrinkled her snout. “They have been dealt a significant blow—several of them, actually—but I feel they can persevere.”

“I don’t want any more people to die.”

“Nor do I.” Luna rubbed her scalp, pushing her headphones back. “That is why Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Velvet selected only the best.”

“I would like a complete list. If only so I know who to root for.” Celestia’s electronic sigh tickled Luna’s ears. “I’m afraid all the news I have is bad.”

“We should compare bad news to bad news.” Luna rubbed her chin. “Together, maybe they add up to good news. Two negatives multiplied equal a positive, after all.”

“You hate math humor.”

“And you hate it when I stoop to your level.” Luna grinned. “You first.”

“Blueblood, Cadence, and the Crystal Empire saved me from a second assassination. They activated the Crystal Heart and infused my fairy strings with some much-needed magic energy.”

Luna’s tail swished as the stress returned to her back. “That… could have blown you apart.”

“And yet, here I am.” Celestia faked a chuckle. “But as much as it saved my life, it’s not quite enough.”

Luna gritted her teeth. She flapped her wings, rustling loose a few blue feathers. “Alright. Spit it out. What ails you?”

“You’ve heard about Twilight’s condition, haven’t you? How her vocal cords—”

“Scarred over.” Luna glanced at the other ponies in the room. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her horn towards the door. Ten seconds later, she was alone in the communications center. “Rendering her mute.”

“Luna… Hurricane cut my heart in half. The magic and the ambrosia have brought those halves together, but there’s too much scar tissue for it to pump blood properly. There’s nothing there to metabolize magic. It’s a lump of flesh, doing nopony any good.”

Luna nodded, before she remembered Celestia couldn’t see her. “You still need the transplant, or you will die.”

“Yes.” Celestia grunted. Sounds of fabric shifting rumbled across the radio waves. “And I have not even given you the worst of it, yet.”

“Let not your hoof be stayed.”

“Hurricane is no mere freedom fighter.” Celestia took a calming breath in through her nose. “She is insane. She has lost any shred of hope and love. She is not the mare who raised us—”

“Actually, I believe she is.” Luna sneered. “A rather more chilling possibility, if given thought. She always thought me her mistake—”

“She is broken, Luna,” Celestia’s voice hissed. “She has had everything she loves taken away from her, and has decided to blame it on us. She has somehow convinced herself that if we were eradicated, it would undo the evil she’s done. She will do anything it takes to see us destroyed. She will hurt anypony to see us hurt.”

Luna cocked an ear, and regretted it when it folded up beneath the headphones. She adjusted them with a wince. “You seem intimately aware of Hurricane’s motivations.”

“Clover the Clever and I had an extended conversation after Hurricane was banished.”

Luna stood up, her back straight and her tail still. “Banished, you say. Not lost to time. Not disappeared. Banished. It was intentional.”

“She was going to kill Starswirl, Luna.” Celestia whispered into her mic. “She had a knife to his throat. Clover saved him, but she didn’t want to see another friend fall. She trapped Hurricane inside an unexplored pocket between the universes, connected by one of Starswirl’s prototype mirrors.”

Luna stared at the radio. She brought a hoof to her forehead and rubbed just beneath her horn. “And then what?”

“Then they left her there, raging and ranting, trying to smash her way through the glass but being unable to touch it.” Celestia’s voice caught. “For over a thousand years.”

“The millennia have been unkind.” Luna levitated a cup of coffee from a nearby desk and took a swig. She left a bit as payment. “How could she have gotten out?”

“Only through outside intervention. Only if someone tampered with the mirror. Only if somebody wanted to let her loose upon Equestria.”

“We know that she does not work alone.” Luna scribbled herself a few notes on the radio operator’s daily log. “They have been known to utilize powerful mind-control magic—strong enough to cause comrades to murder each other. They are also not merely a band of ponies, but have at least one griffon co-conspirator. King Andean was furious when he discovered the treachery—”

Celestia’s voice came low and hot. “What does Andean have to do with any of this?”

Luna wrinkled her forehead. “He is here, visiting. He arrived just before Hurricane’s attack on Twilight. He has offered his services—”

“And you trust him why?

“Because I have seen him at both his worst and his best.” Luna bobbed her head. “By his own word, he has offered to help, and help he has. We have helped each other. If you do not trust him, then trust me.”

“I—you…” Celestia grunted. “Fine. Forget Andean. Do we have suspects as to who would want to free Hurricane?”

“A list a mile long.” Luna held the operator’s log aloft in a shimmering blue glow. “Even when ’tis narrowed by those who would stoop to mind control magic. Ahuizotl, Chrysalis the Second, perhaps the Saddle Arabians—We have no shortage of rogues in our gallery. We… also have evidence that Viscount Dulcimer is heavily involved.”

“Hammie?” Celestia gasped.

Luna scrunched her mouth to the side. “What?”

“Hammie. Hammer Dulcimer. He’s a childhood friend of both Twilight and Blueblood.” Celestia moaned deep and long. “Are you sure?”

“Chief Twilight Velvet has been investigating him for months.” Luna wrinkled her muzzle. “You are going to make me tell them.”

Celestia’s breath caught. “Well… Twilight’s been through a lot. So has Blueblood—”

“You cannot be suggesting we keep this a secret.” Luna scoffed. “No. I shall break it to Twilight when she arrives, and I suggest you tell Blueblood the instant you get out of surgery.”

“Alright. Alright. What a world to wake up to.” Celestia hummed a wordless murmur. “So what’s our next plan? Do we have a next plan?”

“We have several things to do…” Luna folded the log beneath her wing. “I shall meet with the Knights of Harmony, exchange information and discuss what avenues of pursuit are open to us. I shall see to it that Cloudsdale and Canterlot’s guardponies are in sync. And… there is something that you can help with.”

“Even from over here?” Celestia asked. “Even in my condition?”

“Yes. I had a thought inspired by Twilight Sparkle. When you were first cast down, we conspired to cover up the extent of your injuries. However, now I would say it is time for you, personally, to downplay them something fierce.”

Celestia snorted. “A public address? Luna, that’s not—”

“It is exactly what this country needs.” Luna pressed her lips together in a tight smile. “Your little ponies deserve to know that you are alright.”

“But I’m not—”

“But you are. Far more-so than before.” Luna frowned as she shook her head. “They rioted when they found out about your injuries. Imagine the good that will come from an actual good report.”

“You sound like you know what you’re talking about.” Celestia clicked her tongue. “Very well, I’ll bow to your wishes. You’ve kept the kingdom afloat thus far…”

Luna lowered her voice. “I must say, I can’t imagine handling this sort of thing for as long as you did. Ruling solo. It is a nightmare in itself.”

Celestia breathed deep, causing her mic to hiss. “I don’t know that I’ve actually ever told this to you… I’m proud of you, Luna. I’m so very proud of the mare you’ve become.”

Luna’s wide grin got in the way of her words. “I, too, am proud of my sister. Shall we save the kingdom together, yet again?”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea.”

***

Time Turner sat up in the hospital bed. Dinky Doo grasped his shoulder and pressed him back. “Hay,” she said, “you need to relax.”

“I’m perfectly fine, Dinky.” Time shook his head. He adjusted his hospital gown with his teeth. “I just want to be presentable for the guests.”

Dinky rolled her eyes. The young mare trotted over to a pony-sized radio she’d hauled into the hospital room. “No, you want to be handsome for Dr. Yearling. Trust me when I say that is what you want.”

“I’d still put ‘presentable’ at a close second.” Time Turner reached for a glass of water. “When did you say your mother was com—?” When his hoof didn’t reach, he looked down. He wiggled the stump that remained of his right foreleg. “Whickering stallions.”

“She’s coming after her shift ends.” Dinky glanced over her shoulder. “You okay?”

“The blasted thing still itches. There’s nothing to itch.” Time rested his head against the pillow. “Would you be a dear and give me something to drink?”

She grasped the glass from across the room, her horn shimmering. She tilted it close to his lips. “So, hay, we have time before they get here. Wanna see it?”

Time gulped the cool water down. “Oh, of course. Bring it out.”

Dinky hopped up to the saddlebags she left by the door. A golden flash of magic pulled a small, four-legged object out. She carried it to his side, her smile hidden behind a nibbled lip. “What do you think? Does it look right?”

She set a hoof-sized metal pony on his side table. It was plated with gold, with carved indented lines tracing around its curves and corners. It clicked as Dinky wound the key on its back.

The clockwork pony trotted happily across the table. It stopped at the edge, bent its head forward, and then turned to a new direction. It continued to wander around the table until its internal spring had wound down.

“It’s absolutely beautiful, Dinky.” Time Turner grinned and patted her shoulder. “Better than I could have hoped. The movements are spot-on. You really do have a talent for this sort of thing.”

“And you don’t?” Dinky giggled. “You already did most of the work. The gyroscope is your design.”

“But I could never get it to work quite right.” Time flicked his eyes to the door. “Aha. Would you let our guests in?”

“Sure!” Dinky practically flew across the room to yank the door open, her lengthy legs moving in a whir. She pulled the door open and took a bow. “Welcome, one and all, to this evening’s listening of Princess Luna’s address to Equestria.”

Daring Do and Care Carrot bowed in return, Daring stifling a laugh. “We thank thee for this most illustrious invitation,” Daring said, “to this most noble and venerated hospital room. Truly art we humbled and humiliated.” She brushed past Dinky to give Time a warm hug.

“Thanks, Dinky,” Care said. “It’s really nice of you to set this up.”

“It was all Mr. Turner’s idea. I just acted as his hooves and mouth.” Dinky smiled wide. “Word on the street is that tonight’s speech is going to be the biggest news since Twilight ascended.”

“Yeah, I can only hope so.” Care lowered her ears. “It’ll be great to have some good news. Finally.”

“If th-there isn’t any good news,” a shaky voice from behind said, “then at l-least there’ll be good snacks.”

Blankety Blank shuffled into the room with a bag of caramel corn tied around his middle. His milky-white exoskeleton was already beginning to harden to a firm black. “Are we waiting f-for the speech to start, or—”

“Heck with waiting, give it here!” Daring Do thrust her hooves in the air. “Gimme some of that delicious, delicious Sugarcube Corner goodness!”

Time Turner looked the changeling up and down. “How on earth did you go shopping in town without causing a panic?”

“A l-long cloak, a l-lot of face paint, and a lot of help from C-Care.” Blankety gave Time a fang-filled smile. “Disguise just comes naturally.”

Care passed out bowls, which Blank filled and passed to the others. She bumped his shoulder. “How long until your shell hardens enough to start training?”

“G-give it a week.” He popped a kernel into his mouth. “Daring said she’d be ready to join us by then.”

“Yeah, and I’m gonna whoop both your butts.” Daring gave them a fierce grin. “Then, I’m gonna whoop you-know-who’s butt. It’s all nice and cyclic like that.”

Time Turner nudged the clockwork pony across the table. He smirked. “And so the violence continues, a hoof for a hoof, and a tail for a mane.”

“Don’t worry,” Daring said. “I’ll pay her back twice what she took.”

Care raised an eyebrow. “Feeling a little vengeful?”

“Call it righteous fury, Cap.” Daring waved a wing at Blankety. “Yo, poulain, more chow, please.”

A thump at the door drew Dinky running. She swung it open to admit Twilight Velvet, who was pushing Night Light’s wheelchair. “I told you we’d be late,” Velvet said.

“I wasn’t the one pushing the chair, beloved.”

“No, but you were the one who insisted on styling his mane.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t the one putting on five gallons of makeup.”

“Cover-up.” Velvet pointed at the darkened flesh around one eye. “I needed to. Unless you like having a wife who looks like she got into a bar brawl and lost?”

Night Light flashed his teeth. “I admit it does give me feelings I cannot quite comprehend.”

“Save the domestic stuff for later, guys.” Daring Do wrapped her foreleg around Velvet’s shoulder and dragged her towards a set of chairs placed around Time’s bed. “This here’s where the action is. Ten minutes from now, we’ll be able to hear exactly what Luna has to say.”

Care settled down in a cushy seat. “Color me cautiously optimistic.”

***

Merry Mare sat in the back corner of the bar, nursing a nonalcoholic cider. Her wide-brimmed sunhat lay lightly upon her brow, more for looks than protection in the shadowy booth. The normally-rowdy bar was muted, hushed conversations floating around in light of the announcement that Luna would be giving a speech.

Merry met Scuttlebutt’s eyes and gestured him closer. He moved into the seat across from hers and smiled that cheese-eating grin of his. “Everything’s in place,” he said. “We have one-hundred pegasi ready to strike from Cloudsdale, and a hundred each of unicorns and earth ponies in Canterlot. At your command.”

“Good.” Merry let her eyes drift over to the radio the bar’s owner was tuning. “It’s nice that Luna decided to reveal her madness on live radio; it allows us to act immediately. Is there any word on Hurricane?”

“She still hasn’t been heard from.” Scuttlebutt cracked his neck. “Lanner tracked her to Cloudsdale, but it’s going to take time to narrow the search. What happens if she interferes?”

“We cut her down alongside anypony else who gets in our way.” Merry crossed her hooves beneath her chin. “If she decides to help, though, I won’t complain.”

“I suspected not.” Scuttlebutt fidgeted with his hooves. “I should probably get back to—”

“Do you enjoy working with us, Scuttlebutt?” Merry leaned her head closer.

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

“Do you enjoy working with the sirens, the Unseelie Courts, the future ruler of Equestria?” Merry shrugged. “It’s a simple enough question.”

Scuttlebutt tried to clear his throat, but it only became scratchier. “I’ll admit that I eat far more often than I did in Beefland.”

Merry looked at him over her spectacles. “Is that all that motivates you? Food?”

“Aren’t we all hungry for something?” Scuttlebutt let out a half-hearted giggle, which faded to heavy silence. “I’ll say I like it better than the alternative…”

“Which is?”

“You leaving me a dead lump of plasticized flesh at the bottom of the ocean.” He narrowed his eyes. “I am wise enough to know that if I sit on the giant’s shoulder, they can stomp as many towns as they wish, but will never hurt me.”

Merry pulled her glasses off. She folded them and gently set them on the table. “I am not here to stomp towns.”

“You’ll be breaking more than eggs to make this omelet.” Scuttlebutt stretched out the skin on his foreleg, then let it snap back in place. “Will there be anything else, my lady?”

“No.” Merry Mare leaned back in her booth and smiled. “We’ve begun.”

The radio crackled to life. “The Ewe News studio crew is live at the castle, where Princess Luna is about to make her address to the country. Everypony waits with bated—Here she is!

The bar fell completely silent as the patrons took in the first words from Luna’s mouth. Merry took a quick headcount of known associates. Not many, she decided. Only herself, Scuttlebutt, the owner, and a couple others. Most were ponies from Ponyville, simply awaiting the word of their younger High Princess.

Merry shut her eyes and rested her forehead in her hooves, mulling over her response to Luna’s speech.

My Little Ponies,” Luna said, “the past month has been a time of trial and tribulation. All know of the great tragedy of Celestia’s injuries, and the subsequent attacks on Blueblood and Twilight Sparkle. We have been strong in the face of this adversity. We have stood against the forces that would see Equestria turned on its head. We have fought, we have been hurt, and we have gotten back up.

Merry wrinkled her forehead. She hissed a single word, and carried it to Scuttlebutt’s ears via a quick spell from her yellow siren’s sigil. “Scuttlebutt.

He was at her side in a whoosh of air. “Yes?”

“What were Hurricane’s exact words when she said Luna had succumbed to the nightmare?”

This challenge, this battle, is not yet over,” Luna continued. “But all our fighting has not been for nothing. We have hope, my little ponies. It is not the hope of tomorrow, or the memory of yesterday. Our hope is for today. It is of today.”

Scuttlebutt’s throat bobbed. “She said that the princess fell… to fear and hatred.”

Merry clenched her teeth. “You know this battle will be far more difficult if Luna is sane, do you not?”

“Y-yes.”

“Not impossible, but more difficult.” She rubbed her brow. “Inform the commanders that—”

It is my unspeakable pleasure and impossible delight,” Luna shouted, “to present to you the return of my sister, High Princess Celestia of Equestria!

Merry Mare’s eyes popped. Scuttlebutt’s jaw dropped.

I see that I have rendered you speechless,” Luna laughed. “Perhaps I should remind you that applause is most definitely appropriate. Do you agree, Celestia?

Absolutely, Luna,” a second voice said through the radio’s speaker. “I might clap a little bit, myself.

The deafening cheer that rocked the bar drowned out Merry Mare’s violent scream.

***

Daring Do snapped out of her stupor first. She leaped as high as her legs would carry her. “Oh, moldy rutting horseapples, yes!

Time Turner found himself the recipient of two hugs as Daring got him from one side and Dinky came from the other. He couldn’t help but chuckle at Dinky’s high-pitched squeal.

Care slumped forward, her mouth hanging open, the edge of which was tilted upward. She heard Blankety Blank at her side, trying to stifle his sniffles and tears.

My little ponies, I want you to know that I am indeed alive. I am awake. I am most assuredly recovering from my injuries. I cannot say where I am speaking from, only that I shall return to Canterlot as soon as possible.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light leaned into a passionate kiss, barely able to keep from laughing.

Celestia’s voice crackled. “I must give my thanks to those who defended me and fought in my stead these past few weeks. You ponies inspire me towards greater things. You have always inspired me. Without you, none of this would be possible. None of it. I owe everything to you, my friends.

“Sh-she’s talking to you, you know,” Blank whispered to Care.

“She’s talking to you, too.” Care gave him a wink. “All of us.”

“You got that right!!” Daring yelped.

To everyone, I have this message to give: Fight!” Celestia’s voice grew louder and faster. “Fight for Equestria. Fight for our friends and our families. Fight the oppression that these assassins, these destroyers, are trying to pull over our country. We are pressed, but not crushed! We are persecuted, but not abandoned! We have been struck down, but we are not destroyed!”

Pride swelled in Care’s chest as Celestia finished her speech. “Together, my little ponies, there is nothing we cannot do.

***

Merry Mare collapsed against the table, her throat raw. She slammed a hoof into the wood. “Scuttlebutt!”

The wight barely heard her over the celebration of the bar patrons. “My lady—?”

She gripped his neck and pulled his ear close to her mouth. He shivered as her hot breath tickled his mane. “Call off the attack,” she gasped. “Call it off immediately. Do it now!”

“But—” Scuttlebutt searched desperately for an exit. “Celestia’s not here. She isn’t even fully recovered. The battle will still—”

“Hurricane failed twice over!” Merry growled. “The plan won’t work if all four alicorns are alive and well!”

Her foreleg tightened around his neck. “They must be beaten. They must be broken if we are to take control! We can’t perform a successful coup on a returning hero, Scuttlebutt! The people will be with her. With all of them! I am not throwing away three-hundred good fighters in a lost war!”

She noticed a few eyes trailing her way. None with suspicion, but that could change in short order. “Tell the commanders to stand down. I shall inform the Master, the Maid, and the Crone.”

“W-what now?” Scuttlebutt gasped as she released him. “What do we do? We’ve been planning this for… for months…”

“We push the timetable back.” Merry gritted her teeth as she set her spectacles on her snout. “We regroup. We take stock of the new situation. When the time comes—”

She snarled and marched for the door. “—we create a plan that doesn’t include a has-been assassin from ancient history!”

***

Twilight Sparkle surprised the entire crew of the Sky’s Limit by performing a flying back-flip.

Rainbow Dash hovered beside her, pumping her forelegs at the radio. “In your face, freaky assassin lady! In! Your! Face!”

She was caught in a sudden hug by Twilight which almost knocked her out of the air. The two of them embraced, Rainbow laughing and Twilight smiling from ear to ear. They danced, cheek to cheek, flying around the airship with abandon.

Skyhook slumped against the captain’s seat, his bat-like wings slack against his sides. “Oh, thank the Creator, something finally went right.”

The radio operator raised a hoof to signal the bat-pony commander. He fluttered his way over. “Yes?”

“We got an incoming call from the Crystal Empire,” the operator said. “It’s for Princess Twilight.”

Skyhook nodded and trailed after the twirling mares. He stretched to tap Twilight on the shoulder, but kept having to circle around as she swung out of reach. With a burst of speed, he snagged her attention.

“Radio’s for you,” he said. “From the Crystal Empire.”

Twilight nodded and made way for the communications station. She slipped on the headset.

“Hello, my most faithful friend.”

Twilight gasped. A faint sting touched the corners of her eyes. “Celestia?” she mouthed, unable to voice the words aloud.

“I wish we could talk face-to-face, but I had to speak with you as soon as I could.” Celestia let out a low, bouncing laugh. “I wanted you to know that I wasn’t just spouting nonsense. I am going to be fine. I also wanted you to know the truth, though. I wanted you to know that I am about to go into surgery.”

The breath caught in Twilight’s throat.

“Dr. Summerwind is one of the finest surgeons in the Allied Kingdoms. I have no doubt that the operation will finish with complete success.” Celestia’s voice grew a touch quieter. “But a prayer or two would help.”

Twilight nodded, pursing her lips.

“I love you, my friend,” Celestia said. “I look forward to the day we can laugh together again.”

Rainbow Dash floated overhead as Twilight hung up. “Good news, Twi?”

Twilight Sparkle smiled and rubbed her damp cheeks. She scribbled a quick message on Rainbow’s notepad. The best.

***

The only light in Spike’s room came from the radio on his nightstand. He touched the top of the device tenderly, afraid that a single twitch could turn it to dust.

He was similarly afraid that the news he had just received could crumble at any second.

A hoof rapped at his door. “Spike! Spike, didja hear the news?”

His ears perked up at Apple Bloom’s familiar voice. She was followed closely by Rumble. “Hay, dude, Celestia’s alright! She’s back on her feet! We’re all heading out to celebrate. Wanna join us?”

Spike’s hands shook. He clasped them together, causing the shiver to run up his arms. “N-no—Some other time, guys. I’m… I have something to do.”

“What?” Apple Bloom said. “Anythin’ we can help with?”

“No!” Spike snapped his mouth shut. “No thank you. I just… It’s something I have to do alone.”

The other side of the door was quiet. After a moment, a hoof slid against the frame. “If you need somepony to talk to,” Rumble said, “we’re here. You know that, right?”

“Yes.” Spike brought his blanket up around his shoulders. “I know. Thank you. Please go.”

He waited until the sound of their hooves faded down the hallway. He rose from his bed and made his way to the closet. It was fairly sparse, with only a few comic books and winter clothes contained inside. His writing utensils were usually kept in the bag around his neck, and anything else he might need was scattered throughout the castle.

He reached up to the highest shelf and pulled down a haversack. The comic books went in first, followed by the winter clothes. He folded his bedding into another pocket and set his pillow on top. He looped the straps around his arms and hefted it.

The latch to his door sounded loud in the empty hallway. He skittered on all four legs, moving quickly through the chilling castle. Autumn was almost over, making way for the bitter cold of winter; a cold that didn’t especially mix well with dragons.

He paused when he heard the echo of his friends’ voices. Apple Bloom’s mouth ran a mile a minute. “There’s gotta be somethin’ we can do, Rumble! Ah ain’t ever seen him like this. It ain’t right! Spike’s such a happy guy. He shouldn’t be locked up in his room like it’s a dungeon. There’s gotta be somethin’ we can do. Somethin’ we can say!”

“I don’t know what to say.” Rumble kept his voice low to counteract Apple Bloom’s rising pitch. “Spike’s a cool guy. He’ll be able to knock himself out of it sooner or later. Right?”

“Ah don’t know!” Apple Bloom gripped her pink bow and tugged. “Ah just… Ah just want him to be okay.”

“I’ll be fine.” Spike stepped around the corner. He raised a claw to steady his sack. “I just need some time alone.”

Apple Bloom covered her mouth. She fell to her haunches and kicked a hoof, her face bright-red. “You sure? ’Cause you can come to m… to us… We’re here for you.”

“Thank you.” Spike bowed his head. “I really need time to myself though. I’m moving back into the library.”

Rumble hovered a couple meters off the ground. “What? Why?”

“It’s smaller. And cozier. And there’s some…” Spike rubbed his snout. “I don’t want to think about this place. I need some new scenery.”

Rumble dropped down and reached a foreleg out to loop it around Spike’s shoulder. “I’m sure Thunderlane and Cloudkicker wouldn’t mind you crashing at our—”

Spike ducked under and around Rumble’s leg. He held his hands up to wave him away. “No, no. I’m fine. Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”

He looked between Rumble and Apple Bloom, one after the other, and shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

Apple Bloom’s ears drooped alongside her head. She lifted a knee. “But you’re cryin’.”

Spike wiped his cheek. A boiling tear sizzled against his scaly hand. “It’s allergies. Or a cold. I’m—”

”Say you’re ‘fine’ one more time,” Rumble said with a half-hearted grin, “and I’m gonna decorate the library with toilet paper while you’re sleeping.”

Spike cracked a smile. It melted away when he saw Apple Bloom’s frown.

“Please don’t lie to me,” she whispered.

Spike lowered himself to all fours. He turned away. “I’ll see you guys.”

He all but ran out of the castle and into the town.

***

Hurricane stalked through the smog covering the world. The thick, gray soup stung her nose and clawed at her cheek. A flap of her wings called a gust of wind forth, but all it did was churn the clouds.

Her scar burned. It was as if the poison that had damaged her skin still burned its way through her veins, straight from the adder’s fangs. Thoughts of the attack brought images of Platinum to mind, but Hurricane forced them out. It did no good to think about past friendships, those relationships that had merely proved toxic. Caustic. Corrosive.

My little ponies, I want you to know that I am indeed alive. I am awake. I am most assuredly recovering from my injuries. I cannot say where I am speaking from, only that I shall return to Canterlot as soon as possible.

Hurricane snarled at the memory of Celestia’s words. She kicked at the fog, searching for something to hurt. Something to tear apart. Something to kill. “Celestia!”

“Yes?”

The fog closed in around Hurricane. She turned to the right and the left, searching for the source of the voice. “Who is there? Show thyself!”

The fog parted, creating a clean avenue to a white-coated alicorn mare: Celestia. She spread her wings and took a step closer. “I am here, Hurricane. Speak.”

Hurricane lifted a wing to shield her face. “Thou art an apparition. A conjuration of my own imagination. Thou canst not be real.”

“I am real. As real as I ever was.” Celestia drew closer to Hurricane, moving one step at a time. “I am here, inside your dream. I need to talk with you—”

Hurricane jumped back with a flutter of her wings. “I thought only Luna could dreamwalk.”

Celestia paused. She lowered her brow. “You would be surprised what you can learn in a thousand years… Mother.”

Hurricane’s mouth opened. She scraped her teeth against each other. “So… you know the truth.” Lowering her head, she stared at her hooves. “How long?”

“I always suspected… There was an ache in my heart.” Celestia hunched her shoulders. “I felt very much… that I was missing something. Something important. The pain was lessened around you. When you trained with me, and traveled with me, and fought at my side, I felt a bit more complete.” She chewed her tongue. “You, Platinum, Smart Cookie, and Clover were always my mothers, just as Puddinghead, Pansy, and Gregor were my fathers. We were a family.”

“Nay.” Hurricane spun around and marched away. “’Twas but a lie.”

Celestia shook her head as she trotted after her. “It wasn’t always one! Mistakes were made, yes. By everypony! We fell apart through the fault of no one being.”

“Celestia, I have lost more in my life than I care to think of.” Hurricane glared back. “My only hope, that I would one day be reunited, has faded. You have taken even that away from me. Pray tell, for what purpose do you haunt my nightmares?”

“I came to say that I forgive you.”

Hurricane stopped short. She jumped into the air and met Celestia’s eyes. “You dare—?”

“I forgive you for hurting me. I forgive you for hating me. I forgive you for lying to me.” Celestia fought to keep her face under control, but couldn’t stop her strained moan. “Oh, Hurricane. I forgive you. And I miss you. I’ve missed my mother all these thousand years. I’ve longed for the chance to speak to you just once.

Hurricane sneered. “This changes nothing between us.”

Celestia’s muzzle dipped down. “I know.”

Hurricane raised an eyebrow.

Celestia brushed her pink mane to the side. “I know that it could never be. We can never be reunited. We could never be a family again. Though I can forgive you for what you did to me… you must still suffer the consequences of your actions.”

“The consequences of my actions,” Hurricane said, “will create a free Equestria—”

“Shut up!”

Hurricane jerked back from Celestia’s shout. She settled onto her four hooves with wide eyes.

Celestia kept her face firm. “You have murdered my personal guards, each one a hoof-picked friend. You have demolished an airship and murdered its crew. You have attacked and maimed my dearest friend in all the world. You have harried my sister at every turn. You have sent my kingdom into a panic. You have endangered my family, and the families of my most trusted companions. You have brutally injured people who have sworn to defend me.” The muscles in her mouth ached from the pressure in her jaw. “And can I swear any less to them?”

Hurricane’s voice shook. “I had friends, too, once. They are all dead. I no longer have the hope to one day reunite with them. I only have the present. I only have the cause; the cause that says every false alicorn will fall, and my mistakes shall be wiped off the face of the earth.”

Celestia shut her eyes. She stomped a hoof as hard as she could, sending tremors through the dreamscape. “Cadence and Twilight are not false alicorns, Hurricane.”

The commander’s ears lay against her scalp.

Princess Celestia drew herself up and opened her violet eyes. She bored into Hurricane with all the fire she could muster. “Mi Amore Cadenza… Twilight Sparkle… These two alicorn princesses ascended through the virtue they displayed, and the magic within their own hearts. No outside forces, no arcane rituals, no tampering inside the womb. They are two ascended natural alicorns.

Hurricane stumbled back as Celestia pressed her snout against the commander’s. “You tried to slay one of the very alicorns you so desired to see, so very long ago. Do you not see the depths to which you’ve fallen? Do you not comprehend how much evil you have sown?”

Celestia grabbed Hurricane’s shoulders and shook her, her breath coming in shallow spurts. “Please, Mother, end this now! There doesn’t have to be any more death or destruction. There doesn’t have to be any more pain! Only you can stop this now, before any more lives are ended.”

Hurricane spread her wings and pushed Celestia away. She lifted herself off of the ground. “No.”

“Turn yourself in!” Celestia raised her hooves. “Stop fighting for your unrighteous cause! Do it for Platinum’s memory—!”

“I remember Platinum as the mare who told me I would never speak with her again!” Hurricane slammed her hooves into Celestia’s ribs. “And I remember you as the snot-nosed little brat who reminded me of my failures every single moment she was alive!”

Another kick sent Celestia onto her back. Hurricane landed with four feet on the princess’ stomach. “I shall murder your friends to a pony. I shall tear your kingdom out from under your hooves. I shall send your sister into a madness from which there is no return. I shall do it in full view of you, so that you can feel every twist of the knife. Then, only then, shall I plunge a second spear into your Creator-forsaken heart!”

She drew close to Celestia’s face, until they could feel each others’ hot breath. Hurricane turned up her lip. “Forgive that, Princess.”

Celestia glared at Hurricane as the fog swirled around them, stinging their eyes and tugging at their feathers. She contorted her face into a stiff grimace. “I love you, Mother.”

Her horn glowed a piercing white as her body faded to pure magic. “Goodbye.”

She exploded in a shower of sparks, leaving Hurricane alone in her own empty, poisonous dream.