• Published 12th Oct 2014
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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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Rectify

The blades thudded deep into the wood on the sides of the carriage. One slid past the claws of the crane and to the roof. Twilight pressed herself against the wall, out of sight. “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. No, no, no, no, no.”

“Stay away from the windows,” Velvet hissed. She pressed her husband back. “She’s gonna be looking for movement.” She gripped her pipe tight between her teeth. “You know this joker, Twilight?”

“A-a-asss-assss…” Twilight swallowed hard. She was finally able to squeak out, “She’s the assassin.”

Twilight Velvet turned her head in shock. She pulled it back just before a blade entered the car. It zipped through the window on the other side and hit the building across the street. “Plan?”

The crane rotated a few degrees before halting abruptly. The carriage shook. For one brief instant they could see Snipe Hunt’s body crushed between the crane and the carriage. The crane spun again, this time carrying them over the sandy floor of the construction site.

“Teleport,” Twilight said. “But only you two. I have to stop her.”

Night Light shook his head. “You aren’t going to face her alone, young la—”

“Get dad out of here.” Twilight punched her hooves into the floor of the carriage. In an instant, she had ripped a gaping, pony-sized hole out of the floorboards. She removed her cape and gripped it in a bubble of magic. Her horn flashed pure white. The cloth vanished and reappeared in midair a few meters away, where it was pelted by knives. “Go!”

She dived through the hole while the scarred mare was distracted. She flapped her wings to gain altitude, but the wind was against her. It swirled around the construction site like a vacuum, pulling her back. She dared to look over her shoulder and saw the assassin flying straight at her. Twilight cupped her wings and allowed the wind to pull her towards the mare. She lashed out with all four hooves, but her target juked out of the way.

The scarred mare twirled and threw a wingblade Twilight’s way. Twilight vanished in a cloud of embers and reappeared on the ground. She fired a beam of pure kinetic force and clipped the assassin’s wing. The mare fell into a tailspin, but landed on all four feet. She charged headfirst at Twilight, her cold, gray eyes narrowed in concentration.

Twilight counted down to zero. On the mark, she teleported herself behind the mare.

The scarred mare dug her hooves into the sand. She used her own momentum to spin around, snapping a wing out as she did so. When Twilight reappeared, it was with several deadly blades flying at her. She flinched back and constructed a hasty shield.

Each of the blades slice through the barrier, followed by her rear left leg and right wing. She shrieked and stumbled back. The mare charged again, landing a headbutt square in the middle of Twilight’s chest. She carried Twilight for a ways, battering her with her wings. She threw Twilight to the ground and stomped once on her stomach.

Twilight gritted her teeth and bucked the mare underneath the chin.

The scarred mare landed three meters away. She stood slowly, nursing her jaw with a chipped hoof. She cracked her neck and marched forward.

“Is… is that all you got?” Twilight said. Her body shook from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. “I’ve fought changeling drones that hit harder!”

The mare scratched the scar on her cheek. She sneered. “As have I.”

Twilight let loose another kinetic blast. The mare danced nimbly to the side. She fired again and again, with the same result reach time. She charged, her horn lowered with a paralyzing spell on the tip. The scarred mare took flight, her wings churning up the sand on the ground. Twilight turned her head away as her eyes stung.

The mare landed shoulder-first on Twilight’s back, sending her to the ground. She lay into Twilight with blow after blow, striking as many sensitive points as she could. When Twilight lashed out with a wing, she backflipped away. Twilight sat up and glared at the mare.

The assassin opened both wings, held them out, and then swung them at Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened. She counted quickly. Thirteen blades. Level plain of approach. Consistent speed. Her horn strobed purple as she sent a concussive blast at each blade, one after the other. They either deflected or crumpled in the face of her magic.

The mare with the scarred cheek gaped. She took a step back. “How… how did thou do that?”

“I did the math,” Twilight said, drawing magic to her horn. “Plug and chug, baby.”

The next spell sent the scarred mare flipping end over end into the crane. She slumped to the ground and groaned. Twilight teleported over her. She pressed a hoof into the mare’s back. “So. You wanna tell me why you’re gonna spend the next few thousand years rotting in a dungeon, murderer?

The mare looped her foreleg around Twilight’s. She threw the princess off-balance and brought her forehead to the side of her head. Twilight yelped as the assassin threw her to the ground and restrained her limbs.

“Rectification.”

***

“How long are we gonna wait around here for, Princess?” Care said. She walked around the edge of the garden’s seating area. “It’s been a good twenty minutes.”

“Maybe we ought to go looking for her,” Daring said. She rested her back against a stone bench. “Maybe she’s waiting until we move away from the dragon over there.”

Luna glanced to the doorway. Her wings were wrapped tight around her body. Bags hung under her eyes. “Skyhook hasn’t returned yet.”

“No, and I don’t think he’s gonna.” Daring hung her forelegs over the back of the bench. “And if he does, he’s gonna have an angry griffon trailing him. What’s the story, Princess? What was that freaky storm about?”

“I… do not know. I do not know!” Luna slammed her hooves into the stone pathway. It cracked a little more. “It could have been natural; the garden is enclosed by buildings and winter is well on its way. It could have been Hurricane sending us a message. It could have been Shardscale shrugging her shoulders.”

“Don’t blame this on me,” Shard said from the rooftop.

Scribble, scribble, scribble.

Care grunted and rolled her eyes. “Are you recording this or the party inside?”

“Both. I know shorthand.”

Scribble, scribble, scribble.

“And guys… Andean ain’t happy.”

Luna cursed under her breath. She paced back and forth, seething. “Twilight Sparkle should be here by now. Where is she? What’s taking her?”

Daring shrugged. She sat up with a start. “Hay. You don’t think she and Velvet got in trouble, do you?”

“I don’t want to believe so.” Luna frowned. “The only ponies who knew she was coming by carriage were us and Captain Snipe Hunt.”

Care raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t exactly a national secret, your Majesty.”

“No, but the information wasn’t openly available either.” Luna cringed as the door to the ballroom opened. “Regardless, that isn’t our immediate problem.”

“Luna!” Andean snapped. “I want an explanation! What sorcery has my daughter witnessed?”

An apologetic Skyhook bit his lip as he followed the griffon king.

“And what are you doing out here by yourself?” Andean waved a talon as he lumbered to them. “Is not the assassin still running around? You are putting yourself in danger!”

“Yes, I am.” Luna strode towards him. “For your benefit, I might add.”

“My benefit?” Andean clutched a claw to his chest. He widened his eyes and pushed up his eye-patch. “My benefit, eh? Pray tell, how does this benefit me above all creatures?”

“You as well as all creatures,” Luna said. She stopped a half-meter from him, her snout raised. “The sooner we capture the assassin, the sooner things may return to normal.”

Andean Ursagryph huffed. His head swung to the side to look Luna in the eye. “You’re using yourself as bait? Are you insane?”

“Have you a better idea, King Andean?”

His eyes burned. “Indeed I do! Anything would be better than putting the last pony who can raise the sun in the grave!”

The garden went silent. Care looked past the two rulers to see Stella, Corona, and Applejack peering through the still-open doors. King Andean Ursagriff’s bristling feathers smoothed themselves out as his voice softened to a whisper. “There is no love lost between me and Celestia’s governing style, but even I must admit you are… necessary.”

Luna folded her wings neatly across her back. She raised a hoof and set her mouth in a thin line. “She only wants what’s best for the world.”

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, is that right?” Andean ground the sharp, curved edge of his beak. “I’m afraid you’ll find these ganders to be horses of a different color.”

“You may raise your grievances at the court.” Luna turned back to the tree. “Right now, I have a killer to catch.”

“You are putting us all in danger, Luna!” Andean roared. “Protect yourself!”

She sat down, her back to the griffon. He, too, turned and reentered the ballroom.

“Why are you and Princess Luna fighting, Father?” Stella asked, her eyes teary.

“Because I remember,” he replied. “And she does not.”

Applejack scrunched her muzzle before following the three griffons into the hall.

***

The scarred mare hit Twilight in the eye. She grabbed her head and held it against the cold metal of the crane’s base. She pushed with all her might, her muscles straining and her legs shaking.

Twilight screamed at the pressure building in her skull. She fired a spell, one calling on her pegasus abilities, that sent lightning streaking from her horn. The electricity danced along the surface of the crane until it met the assassin’s hoof. The mare was flung from Twilight, power burning through her limbs.

Twilight held her head. She fought against her blurred vision to get a bead on the mare. Her vision cleared, but all she saw was a wing snapping towards her. The tip caught her in the throat. She slumped back, choking for breath.

The scar stood out on the mare’s cheek. The deadened skin around it grew red and swollen. She bit down on her lip and raised a hoof to crush Twilight’s head.

Twilight Velvet appeared in a shower of blue sparks. She sent a strong uppercut into the bottom of the mare’s jaw. She followed up with two left hooks to the side of her head. She finished the combo with a headbutt that smacked the mare between the eyes with her horn.

The assassin opened her mouth. Her tongue lolled out, ragged and red from having been between her teeth when the blow hit. She spat blood and leaped at Velvet.

Velvet raised her hooves and blocked the downward strike. She moved to intercept another from the side, and a third from the front. She sprung with a hind leg and caught the assassin in the flank. She twirled, bringing the other leg to the same place. The scarred mare tipped to the side and rolled.

They circled each other, Velvet moving quickly to put herself between the assassin and Twilight. The mare shook her white mane from her eyes and jumped high into the air.

Twilight Velvet took one measured pace back and allowed the mare to drive her hooves into the sand. She brought her hooves up and around to collide against the mare’s ears. The scarred mare bellowed and lunged to sink her teeth into Velvet’s shoulder.

The assassin wrapped her forelegs around Velvet’s torso and prevented her from pulling away. Velvet grappled with the mare, trying to pry her free. They both stood on their hind legs, Velvet with her horn glowing, the mare biting down as hard as she could.

The light from the horn caught the scarred mare’s eye. She released Velvet’s body and boxed her ears. The spell faded away unmade. The mare hit Twilight Velvet twice in the nose with firm headbutts. She let the police chief slump to the ground.

The scarred mare wiped her mouth. She scowled with bloody teeth as she turned back to Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, was standing up. Her horn was lit with a ready spell. Her face was contorted with rage. Before the mare could react, Twilight had encased her in a strong, unyielding, telekinetic bubble. She lifted the mare and brought her down to earth as hard as she could.

She did so again. And once more for good measure. She drew a circle in the sand with the mare’s body and stood in the center. She drew the mare close and dropped her.

A wing spread, catching Twilight on the edge of the snout. The scarred mare stood up and hit her with a one-two-three punch that left her lip bleeding. Twilight held her hooves in front of her face to block the next few punches. With her eyes ablaze, Twilight growled.

“This is for Celestia!” Twilight sent a flying right hoof into the mare’s jaw. The mare’s head jerked to the side as she reeled from the blow.

“And this is for my mom!” Twilight screamed. She turned around and bucked the mare with all her might. The mare flew across the construction site into the wall of the unfinished building. The plaster wall crumbled on impact, covering her completely.

The breath left Twilight in a whoosh of air. She scurried over to her mother and lifted her head. “Mom! Mom, can you hear me?”

Twilight Velvet grinned as she opened her eyes. “Id’s dust a broked dose, Sweedhard. Had worse before.” Her horn lit with a quick, mild healing spell. “That’ll help. At least I don’t sound like a total moron.” She squinted across the lot. “Speaking of which…”

Twilight left her mother to recuperate and trotted towards the broken wall. She was about halfway when the plaster shifted. The scarred mare staggered to her feet, holding her head. One wing flapped uselessly at her side.

“Wow, you’re a tough cookie.” Twilight pulled her lips back. “I’m surprised you can breath, let alone stand.”

The mare opened her eyes with a fiery glare. She gripped the limp wing with both forehooves and forced in back into its socket. She flapped her wings and raced across the sand.

Twilight took a step back. “Guh—”

The mare wasn’t aiming for her, though. She looped around Twilight, making lap after lap. She sped up with each pass, kicking up dust and sand. The wind whipped Twilight’s mane and stung her eyes. Twilight held a hoof in front of her face.

One of the blades from the mare’s arsenal sliced her foreleg.

Twilight screamed and held it to her chest. She opened her eyes and gasped. All around her, caught up in the newborn whirlwind, were tiny, glinting shards of metal. All of them sharpened to the breadth of a molecule. All of them looping around to cut her.

In the time it took to spark her horn, a blade dragged across her shoulder and broke her concentration.

She looked up. The tornado of sand and metal rose to the height of the four-story building beside her. She was at the bottom of a deathtrap. More blades closed in. She cast a quick shield that didn’t even slow them down before they cut the tip off her ear.

She fought against the sand stinging her eyes and the cuts stinging her body to come up with a plan. She couldn’t grab the mare at the speeds she was going. She couldn’t blast the blades out of the sky or stop them with a shield. She couldn’t fly out of the tornado without being diced.

A blade raked a deep gash in her side.

She pushed the pain down and focused on her horn. She charged it to brilliant, bright white: The makings of a teleport. If she could just get out of the whirlwind, she could fight back. She turned her body to avoid the next round of knives.

One stabbed itself deep in her hind leg, knocking her off her feet.

She kept her horn bright. Tears poured down her cheeks and were swallowed by the sand. She glared at the pseudomotion of the mare’s white mane as she spun around and around, ordering her tornado of death. Twilight shouted at her as she prepared to cast her spell.

A blade across the throat silenced Twilight Sparkle. She choked. She collapsed. Her horn went out. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. The air didn’t come.

At the edge of the whirlwind, a collection of yet-to-be-affixed iron framework was scooped up by the tornado. They swirled around on their way to the top. The scarred mare left the storm to its own devices and hovered beside them. She snarled at the princess at the bottom of her magic abyss and dove, the iron bars following her down.

Twilight’s eyes and the mare’s locked. Iron coursed through the storm to end Twilight’s life.

Twilight Velvet teleported on top of her daughter. She scooped the princess up and teleported away.

Metal met earth with a resounding clang that echoed throughout the entire city. The mare stopped her descent with her wings spread wide. She allowed the tornado to die down and fade away. She fell to the ground.

She crawled away despite the pain that was tearing through her body. She headed for the only safe place she knew in the city-state.

***

Twilight Velvet appeared in the middle of a street two blocks away from the castle. She held Twilight Sparkle close, rocking her back and forth. “Night Light? Night Light!”

“Twilight!” he answered from the next street over. “I’m coming!”

“Call an ambulance!” Twilight Velvet shrieked. She pressed a hoof over her daughter’s bleeding neck, staunching the flow as well as she could. “Call the hospital! Do it now!”

Twilight Sparkle croaked. One violet eye turned to her mom. Its luster was fading.

“D-don’t try to talk, Sweetheart,” Twilight Velvet said. She ran a hoof through her daughter’s mane even as the other clamped firmly over the cut in her throat. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. M-mommy’s here. Mommy’s here for you. Just rest now. Shh.”

Twilight Sparkle whined as she tried to take a breath. Her eye gradually slid shut and her squirming stopped.

“Oh, Creator, please. Please help her, please.” Tears dripped from Twilight Velvet’s eyes. “Please help her. Please.

She lifted her head. “Somepony help her! Somepony help my baby!”

Ten minutes later, an ambulance carriage rolled up. The first-responders scooped Twilight Sparkle up and rushed her to the hospital. Twilight Velvet rode with them, not letting go of her daughter until the bandage was around her neck. Once they arrived, the doctors took Princess Twilight away, leaving an intern to tend to Chief Twilight’s nose.

Twilight Velvet sat in the waiting room, her head resting on Night Light’s shoulder. Her gray coat had been washed, but still held traces of red. Tears ran down her cheeks and collected under her chin. Night Light took deep, even breaths to keep himself calm.

They waited.

***

Applejack watched as Andean took both his daughters on a floating dance through the air. He smiled brightly for them, but his eyes kept jumping to the garden’s door. Applejack sat down at the edge of the dance floor and scanned the ballroom for any sign of Twilight Sparkle.

Instead of Twilight, she found Rarity. She was dancing with a Frankenpony-esque Fancypants. Applejack joined the circling dancers and made her way to them. “Mind if ah cut in?”

Rarity turned to her with a smile. “I’d recognize that voice anywhere! Applejack, how are you?”

Fancypants held his hooves out to dance with Applejack. He met empty air as the two mares twirled away. He dropped to all fours, shrugged, and headed for the punch bowl.

“Ah good as ah can get under the current circumstances.” Applejack stubbed her hoof against Rarity’s. “Ow. It ain’t exactly mah heart’s desire to—ow—speak overly much with—ow—Andean. You seen Twi around? Ow.”

“Not a—ouch—hint of lavender alicorn anywhere.” Rarity shut her eyes behind her intricate, colorful mask. “We really much teach you to waltz, Applejack.”

“Ain’t got time.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ah’m startin’ tah worry ’bout her, Rares. She shoulda been here an hour ago.”

“Do you suggest we leave the party and scour Canterlot for her?” Rarity sighed. “It’s rather a large city, Seabreeze.”

Applejack squinted. “You knockin’ on mah costume?”

“It’s a compliment.” Rarity smirked halfheartedly. “You know, I thought mayors had people to do this kind of thing for them.”

“Yeah me too.” Applejack jerked her head towards the doors. “We goin’ or what?”

They left the dance floor behind. As they gently pushed their way through the partygoers, a short stallion tapped Applejack on the shoulder. “Lord Mayor?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“I have a message for you and Princess Luna. Do you know where she is?”

Applejack’s walk curved to the garden. “Yeah, ah do. What’s up? Where’s the message from?”

“The hospital.”

***

Twilight Velvet wiped her eyes as Daring Do barged into the room. “Where’s Sparkle?” she asked. “How is she? Is she gonna be okay?”

Velvet’s eyes stung. She lurched forward and wrapped Daring in a tight hug. The pegasus jumped in surprise, but soon returned the embrace. “Hay,” Daring said. “I’m… I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“She wasn’t breathing,” Velvet said. “She wasn’t moving. Daring, ponies don’t survive this. You’ve seen it. She… she’s gonna die, and I couldn’t help her.”

Applejack and Rarity walked slowly into the room. Applejack rubbed her foreleg and turned to Night Light. “They workin’ on her now?”

He only nodded.

Rarity’s makeup smeared when she wiped her eye. “Oh, my stars. This isn’t fair. She doesn’t deserve this.”

She waved a hoof and wandered around the waiting room. “She should have been drinking punch, dancing with a few nice stallions, enjoying her position! Not fighting for her life in a h-h-hospital.”

Applejack grabbed her shoulders. “Easy. Rarity. Just stay strong, okay? Stay strong for Twilight. Sh-she needs us to believe she can make it, okay?”

Rarity pressed her lips together and bowed her head.

The temperature in the room dropped. All ponies turned their heads toward the entrance, where shadows were collecting. Princess Luna stepped inside. “Where is she?”

Night Light bent a knee. “They’ve taken Twilight to the emergency room and are—”

“Where. Is. The. Assassin?” Luna said in a low, icy voice. “I swear she will pay for what she’s done.”

“She’s long gone by now,” Applejack said. “Right this second all we can do is pray for Twi. Time’ll come later fer payback. Fer justice.” She lifted a hoof to place it on Luna’s shoulder. “Just try an’ keep a cool head.”

Luna jerked away. “A cool head, you say?” She gritted her teeth and brought her face to Applejack’s level. “My sister is living a nightmare. My friend has been torn apart. Other ponies are already dead. The time is over for cool heads!”

“What the hay is the matter with you?” Applejack bumped noses with Luna. “Get a hold of yerself! Yer gonna get yerself killed or drive yerself crazy!”

“Stop it, the both of you!” Rarity said. “Now is not the time to fight over anything. We need to come together and—”

“Luna’s right,” Daring said. She pulled away from Velvet and lifted a hoof. “We need to track down this killer before she goes and hurts anypony else. Who’s with—?”

“Where’re yah even gonna start?” Applejack stomped a hoof. “Yer gonna run off on a wild goose—”

“Silence, all of you!” Luna spread her wings, blotting out the light from above. “My word is law, and—”

“Enough!”

They all turned. Night Light cradled Twilight Velvet in his forelegs. “Enough,” he said. “Please.”

Luna lowered her wings. The room brightened. She closed her eyes and left through the door.

Applejack pulled the fuzzy wig off of her head. “Ah’m sorry. Ah’m so sorry.”

Rarity leaned into her side. “As am I. Perhaps we should all take a moment and… hope.”

The two Element Bearers laid hooves on Twilight Velvet’s shoulders. Daring Do walked across the room and sat across an uncomfortable couch. She glared at the coffee percolator as it ground out a single cup.

She glanced back once at the collected ponies, then buried her head in her forelegs.

***

The scarred mare leaned against the cool metal door. Above, the rusted sign declaring the building Dulcimer’s warehouse creaked in the wind. Her muscles protesting with every movement, she pushed the door up and slid beneath. She crawled across the dusty, dirty floor towards the couch.

Her cheek burned. Her legs ached. Her jaw stung. Her wings seized. Tears dripped from her eyes as blood dripped from her mouth. She dug through the couch cushions in a rush. When she found the silver cylinder, she yanked it out and unscrewed the cap. She used the cap to measure out two millimeters of the golden liquid.

The ambrosia burned her throat, but it was a welcome change from the agony of before. Gradually, her aches and pains ceased. Her wings throbbed, but it was a dull pain. She dabbed a drop on her scar and sighed in relief. She narrowed her eyes at the mirror.

Poison. Poison went straight for the heart.

“If the younger princess is not dead, she will be soon.”

No answer came from the mirror. The scarred mare paid it no mind. It never answered when she spoke. Her only requirement was to answer when it spoke. She lay herself in her cot and rocked back and forth. The single light flickered overhead.

Poison shut down the heart and through that, it killed the body.

The mare gritted her teeth as her stomach burned with the healing power of ambrosia. She hissed when the sensation subsided. She leaned out of her cot and turned on her homemade radio.

Crackling music slid out, filling the warehouse with the sounds of the opera. Proud singers with strong voices belted out their tunes. Notes were hit that were once deemed impossible.

Poison struck the heart. The scarred mare had most certainly struck Luna’s heart.

She shut her eyes and let the music lull her to sleep.

She didn’t know how long she’d been out before the door to the warehouse crumpled inward. She brought herself to full wakefulness in an instant, flipping out of the cot to face the invaders. Her legs protested, but she didn’t let the pain show on her face.

There were eight stallions. Six were covered in armor and wielding various weapons. The other two walked in behind them, a unicorn and an earth pony. The unicorn raised a butterfly mask and tugged the collar of a jacket that was about one hundred years out of style.

“Scuttlebutt,” the unicorn said, “please start bringing the mare’s things to the cart.”

“Yes sir.” Scuttlebutt trotted around the armored ponies. “Will there be anything else, Viscount?”

“No, no.” Viscount Dulcimer shook his head. “I’ll deal with the mare myself.”

The scarred mare sneered. She bent her knees in preparation to charge. “Who art thou?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Using more recent vernacular.” Dulcimer tapped the largest armored pony, a pegasus, on the shoulder. “If she gives you any trouble, feel free to hurt her. Thank you.”

The pegasus grinned.

The scarred mare watched as Scuttlebutt turned off her radio and hefted it onto his back. “How did thou find me?”

“Please, this town is an open book.” Dulcimer shrugged. “I simply know what page the index is on.”

The assassin flexed her wings. “What dost thou want?”

“What I want and what I get are often different things.” Dulcimer rubbed his goatee. “I wanted Twilight Sparkle, but I got you. That can be a start. Maybe we can talk and see where things lead.”

She clicked her tongue. “Unlikely.”

She spread her wings and released several expertly-aimed wingblades, each headed for a different pony’s neck.

Before she could blink, the knives clattered in a pile before her. She looked at it, nonplussed. She looked back up to where Dulcimer was standing, but there was only empty air.

“Nice trick,” Dulcimer whispered in her ear. “But you really need to learn some new ones.”

The mare took a careful breath in and let it out. “And thou wish to teach me?”

“Yes. But not here.”

There was a sharp prick in her neck. She looked down and around to see an empty syringe jutting out from her blue coat. Dulcimer removed the needle and took a step back. “Relax,” he said, “if you let it work, it’ll be over faster.”

She tottered on her hooves. She caught herself again and again, but the world refused to stop swirling. She felt the floor come up and hit the side of her head. The large pegasus scooped her up onto his back, while the others moved her cot and couch into the cart.

“M-mirror,” she muttered. “Mirror.”

She saw Dulcimer look at her with narrowed eyes. He looked over, said something about the mirror, and turned away. The wind whipped past as she was lifted into the air. She felt heavy and limp. Her eyes started to force themselves shut.

“Have her cleaned up a little,” Dulcimer said from beside her. She lifted her head, but she still saw the rooftops rolling past below. Events flowed together as she saw Dulcimer’s face as an afterimage in her foggy mind. “Take her to the estate, and make sure she’s taken care of.”

She blinked once, and at last succumbed to unconsciousness.

Author's Note:

I would call that the first major turning point. :yay:Yay.