• 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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Care

The Ba’al watched the battle with a frown. He tapped his fingers against the armrests. The Thunderhead ruptured and fell, trailing debris and fire.

Celestia strained her eyes to see where Care dropped. There was no sign of the orange-coated mare. There was no sign of Hurricane or Blankety, either.

In the other windows to the outside, she saw Stonewall fighting side-by-side with the griffon captain. Andean had vanished into the storm some time ago. Even with the Thunderhead out of commission, the hurricane raged.

They stopped the spread of the storm,” the Ba’al said, “but they cannot halt it.

“That is up to my sister,” Celestia said. Luna rebuked the nightmare, which faded into the shadows. “And she is strong. Stronger than she or you know.”

Celestia!” Luna’s voice called out. “Sister! Celestia!”

Celestia choked. She reached up to touch the image. “I’m here, Luna. I’m sorry. I cannot help.”

She will die alone.” The Ba’al’s voice crackled. “She and all the other—

“She will do no such thing.” Celestia raised her head. She fought to keep her tears at bay. “She will fight until her final breath. She will stand firm and never waver. She will find a way.”

Insignificant.” He bared sharp, piercing teeth. “All that you are is insignificant. All you can do or ever have done is insignificant. Just look how easily your perfect little world fell ap—

“That is enough!” She flew upwards and thrust her foreleg towards Stonewall’s battle. “If you are so powerful, and so vast, and so wise, why are you not directing the battle? Why are you not destroying Canterlot and Cloudsdale with your own vast power? Why were you unable to reign in Hurricane?”

The Ba’al steepled his talons. “As a being from the dawn of creation, I believe I deserve your respect, young one. You will refer to me by my title, the Lord of the Sky, and you will not speak unless spoken—

“Lord of the Sky?” Celestia shook her head. She turned to Luna’s struggle. “You are not the Lord of the Sky. You’re the lord of flies at best. The king of vermin and filth.”

He rose from his throne and armed his spear. “You dare speak to me in such a flippant, dismissive manner, foul brat? I shall smite you where you lay!

She spread her wings wide. “Then do so!”

The Ba’al gripped the spear tight. He spread his blackened, feathery wings and billowed smoke. He held still.

“But you cannot,” Celestia said. “You can no more move from your throne than I can speak to my sister.”

He stabbed his spearpoint into the throne. “You dare presume—?

“You were imprisoned by changelings, thousands of years ago.” Celestia took a measured step away from him and rested her hoof on Luna’s image. “And you are a prisoner to this day.”

This is my doing!” The Ba’al reached his gnarled hand towards her. “My forces have destroyed your cities!

Celestia glared straight into his greedy green eyes. “You can hide your chains no longer.”

He halted mere inches from grabbing her. She focused on the shimmering air surrounding his burning limb. As she watched, a shackle appeared, no longer hidden by his illusion.

“You are a defeated foe, and I need not fear you.” Celestia curled her lip. “But understand that does not mean I will not fight you.”

The Ba’al dropped the enchantment that hid his other three chains. He sat down hard, his limbs restrained. “You will fight and lose, Daughter of Light! I am immortal! I am eternal!

Celestia let his voice fade into the background. She pressed her cheek against the image of Luna and listened to her sister’s voice cry out. “I’m here, Luna. I’m here, and I love you. Take heart, Luna. Take heart.”

A hailstone broke through Luna’s shield and hit her across the brow. She fell into a puddle and screamed.

“Luna, I love you.” Celestia hit her hoof against the illusory wall. “Stand tall, sister! You know how to stop it! Stand tall!”

***

Luna felt the bump on her forehead, and her hoof came away red. Another hit like that would be the death of her. She hefted herself upwards and surveyed the storm. It had enveloped the entire city of Canterlot, and most of Cloudsdale itself. The eye hovered directly above Canterlot Castle, and the wall was tearing the building apart.

“Celestia! Help me!” Luna stumbled across the square, raising her shield anew. “I can’t do it alone! I can’t! I need you!”

She reached for a lamppost to steady herself, but it tipped over with a touch. She slumped against a brick wall. “Hear me, Celestia… Help… I don’t know what to do.”

Tears poured down her face, fighting for space with the rain. Her starry mane trailed behind her in the wind. Ice coated her wings. Her long tail was caked with mud. “I’m so alone.”

I’m proud of you, Luna.

Luna lifted her face. A familiar, warm voice touched her mind, not her ears. “What?”

I’m so proud of the mare you’ve become.

Luna looked back and the black mark over her cutie mark. “B-but I’m so broken—”

What’s more important?” The voice changed, taking on a different cadence. “Where we came from, or where we’re going?

“Where we’re going!” Luna stood up and lit her horn. “But where do I go from here?”

I saw a second pony with eyes of shadow,” the voice said, shifting tones a third time. “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.

“The moon on her right…” Luna reached out through the storm, above the clouds, past the sky, and into the reaches beyond. “And the sun on her left.”

The moon hung in the sky, concealed by Hurricane’s havoc. The sun lay below the horizon, awaiting the birth of a new day.

Dearest sister,” the voice said in its fourth iteration. It was by far the most familiar of the four. It was a voice that had been screaming to be heard from the depths of her heart. It was her own voice, speaking the lessons learned from the ponies around her. “What are we?

Luna shook the ice from her wings. She lifted her face to the sky and shut her eyes. “You did help me, Celestia. You and Twilight have been helping me this whole time. You have been trying to tell me something important.”

She opened her eyes and gave her sister a smile. “I think it finally got through.”

She called to the sun and told it to rise. Magic flowed through her like rapids through a canyon. Her eyes and horn glowed the brightest white.

The air grew warmer as the sun rose. A reddish color touched the horizon. Silver light spiked through the clouds from the moon. Her heart thundered as she brought the two celestial objects closer together, carrying them to the apex of their arcs.

Lightning struck the ground beside her. She didn’t move.

Blood trickled from her nose. She could feel them getting closer. She could feel them eclipse. Their magic pressed against each other as they tried to repel their polar opposites. The magic reached a fever pitch, crackling and rumbling to put the hurricane to shame.

“What are we?” Luna asked. The hair on her body stood on end. Her feathers flailed. Her mane and tail reached upward. “We are the Royal Pony Sisters! We are the protectors of Equestria! We are the wielders of the morning and the evening!”

The clouds parted above her. She could see the sun and moon in perfect alignment, their power too harsh for the naked eye to observe. A beam of magic lanced downward, tearing apart storm clouds and dissolving hailstones.

Stonewall stabbed a pony with her spear. She turned at the sound of a horrific explosion. Light lanced from the sky and tore its way through the hurricane. A shockwave struck her in the heart and threw her into the clouds.

Everything was still. The storm was halted. The whirlwind was calmed.

Hurricane’s warriors hovered in place, surrounded by the meager few defenders that remained. They held their weapons at the ready, awaiting a signal to continue the fight.

Luna swayed on her hooves. The sun dipped back beneath the horizon. The moon shone bright and full overhead, illuminating the battle. She took in a deep breath and bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “All Canterlot Forces: Attack!

Pegasi launched themselves from the city streets. Unicorns fired explosive spells, while earth ponies raced to the airship port to find anything that was left. Hurricane’s warriors found themselves facing a force well over three-hundred strong.

They fought tooth and hoof for sheer survival.

Luna fell onto her side. Her legs had no strength. Her horn sizzled in a puddle. Her heart beat weakly within her chest. She smiled.

It faded when she saw the Thunderhead. The Felaccian flagship fell faster and faster, each moment of travel taking a higher toll on its integrity. It dove towards the castle in flames.

Luna tried to stand, but flopped back down. A hoof brushed her cheek. “Luna, can you hear me?”

Luna blinked. “Who’s there?”

“It’s Rarity, Your Majesty.” The white unicorn had braced a broken rear leg with a plank and some cloth. “Oh dear. I’m a little out of my element, so to speak. I—um—just hold on tight and I’ll get somepony to assist you. I’m afraid I haven’t dealt with magical first aid since my sister—A story for another time! The hospital is close, I’ll just see if they have room for a princess after today…”

***

Natter bustled down the hallway, struggling to pull his coat on whilst simultaneously balancing his monocle and tying his scarf. A maid followed close behind him, one who wore a uniform that made it very difficult to keep his mind on his work.

“You can’t go out there, Natter!” Sky Wishes snapped. “The storm ’ll kill you and then where would that leave us? Who would I have to drive crazy? Who would glare at me disapprovingly when I slack off? We’ve got synergy, dude!”

“I have to find Luna!” Natter said. “It was my own daft mumblings that sent her off into the storm, so it should be my own daft ramblings that pull her back in!”

“It doesn’t work like that!” Sky Wishes cringed when the large double doors came into view. “Natter! Natter!

She jumped in front of him and spread her wings. “Please!”

Miss Wishes.” Natter drew himself up. “If you wish to keep your job, you will kindly step aside!”

“I don’t care about the stupid job, I care about you!”

Sky Wishes wiped her eyes. She glared at the floor. “Look what you went and made me say.”

Natter reached up and tightened his cravat. Any tighter, he thought, and he just might strangle himself. “Sky…”

“I can’t stop you.” She waved a hoof. “So go. Go find Luna and—”

Natter gave her a peck on the cheek. Every muscle in her body seized.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I have a duty to attend to. But I will return.” He pulled a cane out from a rack beside the door and flipped a top hat onto his head. ”I assume you’ll be here when I do?”

Sky Wishes frowned. She lowered her ears. “Just go.”

Natter mentally kicked himself and pulled the door open.

He came face-to-face with a crashing airship.

He slammed the door shut and leaned against it. “Well, I’m bally well back.”

The entire castle shook on its foundations as the Thunderhead crashed through the front gates. Wootz and canvas tore through the doors and ripped up the marble floors. The wall crumbled and caved in.

Natter hung from the ceiling, his tail held tight by Sky Wishes’ teeth. He looked upwards with wide eyes. “Thank you, Miss—”

“Stuff it,” she said through a clenched jaw.

Natter shrugged and looked down at the devastation. He could see the courtyard from where he hung, through the hole in the wall left by the ship. A movement caught his eye. A pony crawled from the wreckage, their coat scorched and their feathers torn.

Cold, gray eyes looked up at the castle.

“Oh mighty Creator.” Natter felt his legs go numb. “It’s the assassin…”

Hurricane examined the castle grounds for any sign of Care Carrot. A smidgeon of orange coat, a dash of green mane, a pool of shattered remains. The fire from the captain’s horn still burned bright in her cauterized patch. The smug look on Care’s face sent poison shooting through her veins.

There, on one tall tower. A patch of orange scrambled its way up the rooftop, trying to maintain its footing. It slipped and slid before reaching the edge. It looked down and found a balcony that was safe to drop to. It disappeared inside the tower with a volleygun over its shoulder.

“Captain,” Hurricane hissed. She took a step forward and was immediately met with a spike of pain through her bones. She dragged the useless, broken leg behind her, shambling across the courtyard and towards the tower.

Sky Wishes set Natter down gently. She put a hoof to her lips. “When she’s gone, we—”

Hurricane climbed through the hole in the wall. She looked at them with lidded eyes. “What tower is that? On the northern wing?”

Natter placed himself between Sky and the commander. “I won’t say.”

Commander Hurricane pressed her lips together. Dried blood was caked all over her face.

She punched Natter in the chest and threw him across the hallway. Sky Wishes ran after him, screaming his name.

Hurricane limped onwards.

“You monster!” Sky Wishes screamed. “If you continue down this path, you will destroy everything you ever cared about!”

Hurricane stopped. She turned her head slowly. “I have heard these words before. They are weighty words for a servant girl.”

“Where you’re going—” Sky Wishes cradled Natter’s head. “—the only thing that awaits you is death.”

Hurricane scratched her blazing, bleeding scar. She smeared the blood over her hoof. “That’s all that has ever awaited me.”

Tears dripped from Sky’s cheeks and fell to Natter’s limp body. “You hurt everything you touch.”

Hurricane stumbled towards the north wing, where the tower waited. She paid no more mind to the scheduling advisor and maid she left behind. The castle was empty, with the guards having all charged to the defense of their city. The few servants that remained stayed holed up in their rooms or in the kitchens. Hurricane followed the signs to a name that seemed promising: The Dream’s Keep.

A stairway led upwards. She hauled herself up, step by step, painful ache by painful ache. She checked her wing. There were five feather-sized wingblades hidden among the feathers. Her safeguard. Her backup. Her ace in the hole.

The stairwell spiraled into the sky, almost as high as a cloud. There was no door at the top, just an open archway into a circular room. Mirrors lined the walls, each reflecting back the cold, hateful face she’d come to know as her own.

In the center of the room, a pony lay. Her orange chest heaved with every breath. Her legs flopped uselessly beside her. Her green mane was matted and grimy. Her tail swished wearily. Her pink eyes looked up and filled with fear. She croaked out a single word: “Hurricane?”

Hurricane came to Care’s side. She tilted her head. “Can’t you stand?”

Care gritted her teeth.

“Good.” Hurricane kicked Care in the gut. When the soldier curled up with pain, she grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed her down. Hurricane lay her hoof across Care’s throat and stepped down hard.

“I will heal.” Hurricane shifted to get a better stance. She could feel the pony’s bones strain beneath her. “I will return with a new army. I will take Celestia’s life. And Luna’s. And Twilight’s. And anypony else who stands in my way.”

She leaned down and pressed her mouth against Care’s ear. “I shall take your life. But before that, I shall take great pleasure in doing to you exactly what you did to me.”

Care smiled. “Y-you’ve got the w-wrong pony.”

Hurricane jerked back. Her teeth parted as the pony was engulfed in green fire that uncovered black carapace. Her hoof pressed ineffectually against Blank’s hard, chitinous exoskeleton.

A scream tore her back to reality. Care charged from the balcony with a raised volleygun. She stabbed the tip deep into Hurricane’s chest. She tried to pull it out to thrust again, but the commander grabbed a hold.

Commander Hurricane snarled and flicked her wing. All five blades sank into Care’s torso.

Care’s grip loosened. She held on to the gun as fiercely as she was able. She wriggled it back and forth, trying to force the blade deeper. Hurricane snarled and began to draw the blade from her ribs.

Hurricane stood up. She ignored the pain in her broken leg and severed wing. She snarled and watched as Care sank back, the wingblades sapping away her energy. At last, the captain slumped to the floor with a sigh. The commander pulled away from her body and slid the volleygun out of her chest.

Blankety Blank grasped the shaft, forced it back into Hurricane’s chest, and pulled the trigger.

Ringing filled her ears. She cocked an eyebrow at the changeling. He looked at her with eyes full of tears. Without a second glance, he rushed to Care’s side and shook her.

Hurricane tried to speak, but all that came out was blood. She looked down at her chest and saw the volleygun sticking out, surrounded by a red, scorched wound. She couldn’t take a breath; her lungs refused to cooperate. Her hooves were numb, as was her wing. She couldn’t move.

She fell onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The gun stood up from her chest like a flagpole. The floor became wet beneath her. There was an exit wound, then. The edges of her vision faded to white.

Blankety Blank held onto Care’s hoof. “C-come on, Captain. Captain!” He brushed his hoof against her cheek. “Care, please say something.”

Care coughed. She opened her eyes and sighed. “Hi, Blank. Thanks.”

“Y-you’re gonna be okay.” Blank searched around for something to stanch the wounds. “I’ll get a doctor—”

“Thank you.” Care leaned back and fell limp. “Thank you so much.”

“Care?” Blankety Blank grabbed her cheeks and pulled her head up. “Come on, Care, you aren’t done yet. You aren’t done!”

He ran for the exit, and tripped over Hurricane’s body. Her glazed, dead eyes stared at nothing, pure shock written across her face. He grimaced and passed her by. “S-somepony help! We need a doctor! Help!”

***

Daring Do stumbled over a loose stone. She adjusted her headlamp to see the ground at her hooves. “This whole cave is crawling! How are we supposed to get out?”

Twilight Sparkle followed behind, having borrowed Time Turner’s goggles. The light shone wherever she looked. She clutched the Grimoire Alicorn tight beneath her wing.

Daring ruffled her wing to brush against Time’s side. He hung from her back, his head lolled just over her shoulder. “You still good, Time? Still with us?”

“Y-yes.” Time coughed loud in her ear. “Daring, I need to say—”

“Save your strength, we’re almost at the surface.” Daring tapped the rock wall. “I think.”

“But Daring, I—” Time Turner hacked violently. Daring Do spread her wings to balance him.

“Easy, big guy,” she whispered. She felt something wet slide down her shoulder. “Gross. Would yah keep your boogers to yourse—?”

She turned her lamp to her shoulder. It was red.

“Oh, Gosh!” Daring bent down and rolled him from her back. He coughed blood again, dyeing his duster. “Time! No, no, no, no, don’t you even!

He looked down at his coat. He shut his eyes tight and tipped his head back. “Oh no. Not now! Not like this!

“Just relax, Time,” Daring said, a tremble in her voice. “We can get through this—”

“I was happy!” He kicked out, knocking a loose rock aside. “I was finally happy! After all the years of hurt and pain and loneliness, I was finally going to be happy!

His body doubled over with the next coughing fit. He bucked out and screamed. “This is so stupid! Why? Why make me happy when I was just gonna die?

He wept, and Daring pulled him to her chest. He shook, both from sobs and from coughs.

“I was going to fall in love with you,” he cried. “I wanted so much to fall in love with you.”

Daring Do rubbed the back of his head as he nuzzled her chest. “I did fall in love with you.”

She rested her cheek atop his grayed, spiky mane. She smiled and kissed his forehead. “And… and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I mean it, Time. I love you so much and don’t want to be with anybody else.”

Time Turner lifted his head. He gazed at her with parted lips. “But…”

“T-Time…” She pressed her forehead against his and took in a deep breath. “I mean, I don’t really have anything to give you… I could probably pull a ring from the museum collection that nopony would miss…”

Time shook his head. “Daring, please don’t.”

“Give me this thing!” Daring grasped his hoof. “P-please. Please, before you go, give me this chance.”

Time choked with all the strength in his body. He slumped against her. He pawed at her shoulder. “I don’t wanna die. I don’t want to.”

Daring Do laid him down and then settled in beside him. She chewed her lower lip. “Time, will you marry me?” After a moment, she added, “Please say ‘yes.’”

He leaned back, his face contorted with agony.

“Y-you’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” Daring said. She wrapped her foreleg around his torso. “You’re the smartest, funniest, weirdest dude in all of Equestria, and I respect the heck out of that. And… and you make me smile. Y-you remind me about why I’m a knight.”

She bit back the pain in her chest. “And I don’t want to imagine a life where I don’t tell you that.”

Time sobbed. He buried his nose in her mane. “I would go anywhere and do anything to be with you. Of course I’ll marry you.”

Daring turned her lamp to Twilight. She waved the princess closer. “So, um, can you do something to, like, make this all official and stuff?”

Twilight Sparkle wiped her eyes and lowered her goggles back into place. She looked over the two of them. With a shrug, she flapped her wings and nodded.

She crossed her heart, fluttered her forelegs, and stuck her hoof in her eye.

Daring pantomimed the motions and said, “I do.”

Time Turner squeezed his eyelids tight and snapped his teeth together. “I do.”

Twilight Sparkle pointed at her lips, then pointed at them.

Time Turner erupted into a series of uncontrollable coughs. Daring Do held him tight and rubbed his back. She laid a small kiss on his cheek as he calmed down. He let out a strangled gasp.

The rest was mercifully quick.

Daring rocked him back and forth. She shut her eyes and finally allowed herself to cry. “Shh. It’s okay. Shh.”

Twilight Sparkle touched Daring’s wing. Daring Do pulled away from Time and fell into Twilight’s embrace, choking out tears.

A bright light shone on them. “I found them!”

Twilight Sparkle and Daring Do looked up to see Skyhook charging through the tunnels. The other soldiers were hot on his heels. He stopped a meter away from Time. “Oh, geeze, we need to get him to—”

“It’s too late,” Daring said. She wiped her eyes and lifted Time onto her back. “We’re not in any hurry.”

She kept her face firm as she walked forward. “Let’s get out of this darn mountain.”

Skyhook stretched his wings and rolled his shoulders. “I think I can hook you up with that.”

A quick hike later, they stepped into the silvery light of the dead of night. One of the soldiers sent up a flare, while the others attended to their wounds as well as they could. They were at the base of the mountain, a day’s walk from Ponyville. The air was still save for a scattered snowflake or two.

A rickety airship came to pick them up, piloted by Royal Guards. They puttered up the mountain towards the city.

Twilight Sparkle’s heart dropped. Canterlot was in shambles. Cloudsdale was an assembly of scattered clouds. Ponies were everywhere in various states of injury. Rescue workers and able citizens dug ponies out of collapsed households. Griffons lifted wreckage alongside pegasi. The hospital lay in the distance, its windows shattered and part of its roof caved in.

Twilight leaned on the railing. She shook her head. It was impossible, but it was right in front of her. Canterlot was destroyed. Cloudsdale was gone. So many ponies were hurt.

They landed in the castle courtyard, beside the remains of a shattered airship frame. Twilight wandered through the crowds, seeking a familiar face. Was Luna around? Was Spike? She had to talk to somepony. She had to tell them…

She rubbed her face. Her hooves stung where the crystal had bit into her skin. She sat down with a huff and looked into the middle distance.

“Twilight!”

Her ears perked up. She knew that voice like the cover of her favorite book. She smiled and staggered to her feet.

Across the courtyard, pulling off the remains of a parachute, was Twilight Velvet. She hobbled along, picking up speed as she neared her daughter. “Twilight! Get over here and hug your mother!”

Twilight ran. She scooped her mother up and nestled her chin into her neck. She had to bend down to do so, because of how much taller she was than her mother.

“Oh, my baby.” Twilight Velvet kissed Twilight Sparkle. “My beautiful baby girl.”

They sat beside each other with no more words needed.

***

“You failed,” Celestia said.

She snapped a wing towards the Ba’al. “If your mission was to break us, you failed completely. We are a strong people, with strong people fighting for us. We will not bow down in the face of adversity. We will stand tall against those who seek to do us harm. We will stand together.”

You are the princess of rubble.

“We are so much more.” Celestia watched her sister. Rarity daubed the blood away from her nose and fed her warm milk. “We know that even in the darkest hour, there are glimmers of hope. Glimmers of light that you cannot hope to quench.”

The Ba’al slammed his fist against the armrest. “I am immune to the light!

“You are oblivious to it.” Celestia wrinkled her forehead. “If you weren’t, you would know to fear it.”

But you know what to fear,” he said. “You know that I will be waiting and watching. When you are at your weakest, I shall be there. When you miss a step, I shall be waiting. When you falter, it shall be my opportunity. I will wait in the shadows to tear you apart.

“If you were capable of doing so, you would have done it already.” Celestia walked away from him, flicking her tail. “You shall remain here as you always have and always will. Trapped. A prisoner. A nonentity.”

He thrust his spear at her. “To discount me is to empower me! My agents shall follow you all the days of your life! We shall tear your bearers and potential bearers apart, one by one! We shall thrown them into a despair from which there is no escape!

Celestia smiled at him; a bright, cheerful smile. “And now you have just revealed exactly what I shall have to fight to protect the most. Thank you for that. This talk has been so helpful.”

The Ba’al jumped from his throne and was halted by the chains.

“Farewell to you, Lord of the Flies.” Celestia tossed her mane. “What was the old changeling word for flies? Zebub? Farewell, Ba’al Zebub. May you rot for all eternity.”

Ba’al Zebub roared from deep within his throat. The throne burst into flames and sent waves of heat rolling over Celestia. She vanished from the Abyss.

She awoke in a nice, comfy bed. The laughter of Twilight Amore and Silver Lance tickled her ears. The crash of an ancient and ironically-fragile suit of armor brought a smile to her lips.

“Hay, kids!” she shouted. “Who wants to bring naughty old Aunt Celestia a slice of cake?”

***

Daring Do walked into the wreckage of the hospital. She tiptoed past a fallen stretcher and made her way to the Emergency Room. Stonewall had said she would find him there.

The place was bursting with ponies tried to clean up the mess and help the wounded. Orderlies snapped to follow the orders of a dozen doctors. Nurses did their hardest to calm disorderly patients. A little griffon chick curled up against her older sister, watching Andean be carried down the hall by a small army of ponies.

Daring Do found herself in that same, sad little waiting room with the offensively boring wallpaper. A little changeling sat on the uncomfortable couch, his face buried in his hooves. His head jerked up. “Daring?”

She leaned against the door jam. “Hay.”

Blank glanced behind her. He lowered his eyebrows. “Where’s Time?”

Daring blinked tears from her eyes. “H-he didn’t make it.”

Blankety lowered his face back to his hooves. After a moment, soft hisses and sniffs came forth.

Daring sat beside him and rubbed his shoulders. She spoke quietly, but her voice still cracked. “How’s Care?”

“Bad.” Blankety hugged himself. “Sh-she’s hurt bad. B-but there’s nothing I can do.”

“Yes, there is.” Daring Do pulled him closer. “You’re doing it. You’re here for her. That counts for something.”

Blank nodded. He nibbled his lip. “All—all I c-can taste is sadness and anger…”

“Well, I’m sure happy to see you.” She gave him a lopsided grin. “Not getting through too well, huh?”

“I’ll take what I can get.” Blank sat still for a moment. He let out a small laugh. “No offense.”

Daring Do chuckled. She patted his back and hauled herself to her hooves. “I hear you.”

She leaned her elbow against the wall. She could see across the hall to a small window. The sun peeked over the horizon, the night having come to an end. “I guess now’s the waiting game.”

“S-something like that.” Blankety Blank poured himself a cup of cold coffee. As he sipped, he figured it was slightly less bitter than the general atmosphere. “S-something very much like that.”