Cracking Dawn

by Didily Winkles

Chapter 19: A Rock

Chapter Nineteen

A chromatic explosion went off with a sundering magnitude, turning the day sky to night for a second. The spell trailed a crude stick figure of a pony, leaving a wisp of white cloud in its wake. As the night sky turned back to day the clouds were visible for all to see.

"That one seemed like it held together better." Twilight cheered as she scribbled on a scroll.

"Yah..." Dawn shuffled through the snow back to Twilight and April who were sitting in the snow. "There would have been no way for me to do that spell normally though."

"You still don't feel any worse for wear?" Twilight asked as she peaked her head from behind her scroll.

"Nope." Dawn answered, earning a fierce scribbling of Twilight's quill.

"I still don't know why you two are stressing about it. Seems pretty cool to me." April cheered as she watched the stick figure pony dissolve in the high altitude winds. "You need to learn how to draw better though..."

A heaving shiver went through Dawn's body. She was wearing a heavy coat on top of boots and a scarf. She looked ridiculous by her standers. "By Celestia's beard it's cold..."

"I wish you would stop saying that..." April lightly scolded as she walked up to wrap a wing around Dawn.

"Not a chance." Dawn laughed through another shiver.

"Let's get back to my tree. We can warm up..." Twilight suggested as she warped up her free scroll for it to dissolve into thin air. She then turned to Dawn expectantly. They were in the northern expanse, in middle of no where. Dawn was there only way home.

Dawn let out a sigh as she wrapped the void around the three of them to plop them in middle of Twilight's warm library. "So... how goes the foal hunt?" Dawn asked as Twilight walked over to the kitchen.

Dawn and April followed Twilight in to find her making some of that awful brown brew she and April were so fond of. "Why don't you just get Celestia to help you?" April asked as she took a seat at the kitchen table.

"I don't want to cheat." Twilight answered, not turning her attention away from the magically enhanced coffee maker.

Dawn laughed at Twilight's honesty as she worked off her coat and boots. "It's not cheating, its making everything go faster." Dawn assured.

"I would be cutting in line." Twilight said matter of factly, turning around to sit down with April.

"Naw... Plus cheating is the way of life." Dawn said confidently as she walked over to the table.

"You were on of those fillies that peaked when playing heads down tails up during class, huh?"

"No, I was the one that slept but I can guarantee that the winners of that game were cheaters." Dawn said as she gave one last shiver to shake the last of the tundra's chill out. She then resorted to leaning up against that warm pegasus that she liked to keep around.

"Well yeah, that’s why teachers make the kids play that game..." April revealed as she wrapped a wing around Dawn.

"Cunning school teachers." Dawn mumbled. Twilight sat across the table, watching the pair almost longingly. "What does Trixie think about it?"

"She's wants to cheat too..." Twilight sighed.

"So where would you but the poop machines, anyways? Your basement is kind of full." Dawn asked, recollecting the basement full of experimental equipment that Twilight had her hooked up to earlier this morning.

"You don't put foals in basement, Dawn." April jeered matter of factly. "Honestly..."

"We've been thinking of moving back to Canterlot." Twilight said with a sigh. "You know closer to family and what not."

"Closer to family? How horrid." Dawn chuckled.

"What are you two doing for hearts and hooves day?" Twilight asked half-mindedly.

"Las pegasus. Thought we would explore Applewood." April cheered as she tightened her wing around Dawn.

"It's warm there too." Dawn groaned as feeling started to work itself back into her hooves.

"Have you considered altering my growth spell to grow your summer coat out?" Twilight asked eagerly.

"I have..."

"Didn't turn out well, the entire room was covered in a pink fur." April giggled at the unfortunate souls that had to clean it all up.

"That and summer coats are anatomically different from winter coats. It wouldn't be the same." Dawn clarified.

"Huh... So it was every where?" Twilight asked, deep in thought.

"Yep..."

"What?" April asked feeling left out of the loop.

"Breaks the law of conservation. Fur had to come from somewhere. My magic really shouldn't exist but then again I shouldn't." Dawn clarified.

"I've been thinking..." Twilight said abruptly. "If you just dedicated more of your time to our research we cou-"

"I'm not going to stop my research, Twilight." Dawn said cutting her off. "Just think of the world I will end up creating. All the good I will do. I will finally bring a change to the magical world for the first time in a thousand years."

"I don't like dark magic, Dawn..."

"I know."

"What is so wrong with it? I think it's handy." April said, trying to bring a little cheer to the table. Dawn gave out a heavy sigh as she relaxed further into April.

Twilight rested her head on the table as she thought how to answer. "I feel like there was a reason it disappeared."

"There was..." Dawn mumbled.

"Beyond just Luna's banishment. I don't know how to explain it..." Twilight gave out a sigh that matched Dawn's. "After all that I've seen and done something is just telling me it should just stay gone."

"You worry too much, Twilight." Dawn said as she playfully kicked her friend from under the table.

Twilight groaned as her horn lit up fetching two cups full of coffee for April and her. "I don't like to make assumptions but let's assume for the moment your magic well has infinitely expanded."

"It hasn't I think it just replenishes faster." Dawn relented as she delve deeper into her thoughts.

"Maybe we should make a spell you can just empty yourself at once with to test that."

"Well that’s how a lot of my spell explosions work but I don't know if we should. Celestia gets a lot of fallout from me shooting things in the sky even all the way in the frozen north."

Twilight groaned as she thought and stirred her coffee.

"Trixie is due back tomorrow right?" April asked, haphazardly.

"Yeah... So how goes your other research?" Twilight asked Dawn.

"I gave up on it. I'm convinced Luna and Celestia are hiding something from me."

"Like what?"

"Stuff like the spell Luna used to put April in there. Luna won't share her spell, which I wouldn't even know existed if April didn't tell me about, and why I fell to it in the first place. Celestia is convinced it wasn't my fault but won't tell me why she thinks so..."

"Well maybe you aren't supposed to know..." April suggested, meekly.

"The Princesses wouldn't lie to us for anything less than and important reason." Twilight affirmed with a knowing nod.

"I just want answers."

"Well what do you remember?"

"Hmm... I think I remember breakfast with Luna. We went over the final details of our prank. And I know we did follow through with it but I don't remember the details after breakfast."

"Well you and Luna are the only ones who study that stupid magic, what would put you in the void like that in the first place?"

"That's what I've been asking for these past weeks. I feel therefore I am not in the void. It is as simple as that. It’s the very basis of the magic."

"So logically..."

"I stopped 'feeling' I guess, but what in the world would do that?"

"Weren't you studying at the time magical pain relievers?"

"Doesn't work on the caster for some reason."

"Well what ever. I'm sure an answer will come to you." April comforted with a hoof.

"Bleh..." Twilight and Dawn offered.

------

Dawn beamed at giant block of marble that was laid in the middle of her room. It was time to test one of her newest spells. A temperate breeze drifted through Dawn's tower in from the balcony to where ever it found an exit. The cross breeze was most welcome. "What should I make?" She asked the block.

Dawn let out a sigh when no answer came. She skipped over to her desk to plant herself in the chair behind it. Her mind was running through possible subjects for her first and likely last sculpture ranging from April to something abstract like knowledge, envisioning many shapes for the marble. She rubbed her head in defeat as she bent over the chair to spy on the time only for her hair to fall in front of her face obstructing her view. It's been almost two months since she made that deal with April neither of them broke their end of their bargain. April was just starting to look healthy. When they went to go see the doctor weeks into the deal, he revealed to her that she was far skinnier than either of them had guessed. Her winter coat concealed much apparently.

Dawn restlessly wormed herself off the chair, letting her groomed and trimmed hair fall to its proper place. Her parents absolutely ‘adored’ Dawn's choice of hair style as much as April did. It annoyed her for rare reasons. Dawn gave a swift kick to the marble stone as she walked to the balcony. The east horizon was a vast and expansive as it always had been. The pegasus ponies flying above were clearing the winter clouds for winter wrap up for Canterlot, revealing the afternoon sun. Dawn took to bathing in it before it disappeared from behind her tower.

Twilight invited her to take part in, "Ponyville's noble tradition" she said out loud to the horizon. Twilight was delighted about the fact that they didn't use magic to clean up winter.

"Are you going to take part in 'Ponyville's noble tradition'?" asked Luna as she walked out of the void to Dawn's side. "Spend some time to work with your hooves?"

"Not really my cup of tea." Dawn sighed. "I was forbidden from doing it at home though... could be fun."

"Are ponies really that particular about their tea?" Luna asked, not really looking for an answer. "April tells me it is also your Birthday tomorrow." She said, as she shook her head out of her thoughts.

"That it is." Dawn mumbled, indifferently, still looking out at the horizon. Birthdays never really struck a chord with her. Presents from family and teachers were great and all but having no friends put a damper on the whole thing.

"Born on the equinox, curious." Luna commented, resting her head on the railing of the balcony. It's going to be a new moon a day after tomorrow meaning she was almost the size of a normal pony.

"I imagine a lot of ponies were born on that day just like every other day." Dawn replied not really seeing where Luna was going with conversation.

"What's with the rock?" Luna asked suddenly.

"Gotta test my newest spell some how."

"And what, pray tell, does this one do?" Luna asked as she walked inside.

"Harvesting souls and placing them into marble of course." She answered, deadpanning for good measure, hoping her voice reached the night princess behind her. She didn't want to move form her spot in the sun.

"You should sculpt me!" Luna suggested excitedly.

Celestia materialized with a flash of light next to Dawn on her balcony. "Good afternoon Dawn."

"Celly! What do you think? Dawn should sculpt me shouldn't she?"

"Luna, you already have hundreds if not thousands of sculptures of you." Celestia said, looking back to her sister. "First a demolitions expert, then a medical pony, and now a sculptor? You certainly are a renaissance pony." Celestia chuckled as she turned back to Dawn.

"Blame Luna."

"April just told me about your birthday coming up. The big Two-five huh?" Celestia asked, looking delusively genuine.

Dawn's eyes narrowed on the sun princess, studying the thousand year old poker face. "Damn."

"What?" The princesses asked in unison.

"Well clearly I got to know you two too well." She answered, connecting dots previously unseen from the past week. April wanting to study at odd hours of the day, contrary to her habits. Twilight suspending their research this week and the next for preparation for winter wrap up. And now Princess Celestia acting like she doesn't know something. Dawn let out a sigh as she walked inside, her head in a bow of defeat. She collapsed on her couch and stared at the ceiling in thought. Both the princesses were giving Dawn confused looks.

"Is something wrong?" Celestia asked.

"April just told you huh?"

Celestia's face was frozen still, almost calm if Dawn didn't know her better. "Well, this morning, before I started court."

Dawn let out a breath of feigned relief. She watched Celestia's face relax as well. "Luna's a better liar." Dawn said calmly, so calmly that Celestia didn't raise any alarms in her mind and just nodded.

"Ha! I told you Celly." Luna cheered excitedly, nearly launching into the air form excitement.

Celestia, recalling what was said and putting Luna's words into context, pulled together all the royal décor she wears on her face for court. "I do not know what you mean, Dawn, but I am glad you think so. I try to be an honest pony. Now if you excuse me I really need to go tend to some tax ponies that I have held off for too long."

Celestia left the room in a burst of light. Luna walked up to the couch. "Pinkie is throwing you a birthday party on the castle grounds tomorrow night. April requested us to keep you busy while they set up during winter wrap up. Twilight and April have put a lot of effort into this."

"Well then, that should be fun I suppose..." Dawn said to no pony in particular.

"Indeed! So, I suggest you take Twilight up on her offer and join her for winter wrap up in Ponyville. I did it one year. It was as awful as Twilight made it sound." Luna nodded to Dawn's groans. "It's for the best."

"Fine, Fine." Dawn stretched on her couch as she rolled off it. "I'll go tell her tonight..." She sighed.

"Tonight? Why not now?"

"She's making sure every pony isn't sick or something."

Luna rolled her eyes with Dawn. "Well now that 'that' is settled, I am going to go do some of my research and tell April I accomplished what she asked of me."

"Maybe I should sculpt myself." Dawn suggested to the room, striking a pose to help her picture a self image. "Won't even have to move it, I'll keep it right here." Luna didn't respond before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Dawn turned around from the stone block and pulled over the newest additions to her library. Assuming a position on her couch, she cracked the spine and poured herself into the pages.

Dawn made it about half way through her book before she noticed stars peaking out in the night's sky. Funny... Luna didn't come back for our nightly chat. Luna was a pony of habit but Dawn shrugged it off, figuring she just got lost in her research. She let out a sigh as she dog-eared her book and placed it on the shelf that she had pulled it from. She lazily snaked off the couch only to dive in a pool of black smoke that waited for her on the floor. She reappeared outside of Twilight’s Library.

"Curiousier and curiousier." She was expecting to drop in the library, bypassing the whole door knocking sequence. She sighed as she approached the poor ironically tormented tree. She knocked at the door only to receive a low growl from within.

"Coming." Spike said in his maturing voice. Those poor dragons really do like their growth spurts. Spike cracked the door open and popped his head out. "Oh hey Dawn." He greeted.

"Hey Spike. Twilight here?" She asked, knowing she was. She teleported to the pony not the place.

"Yep, so how are you doing?" Spike asked nonchalantly.

"Good..." Dawn raised an eye brow to the emotionless face of the long snouted teenager dragon. "Mind if come in and talk to her?" Dawn pushed slightly on the door to add to her suggestion. It didn't give.

"Trixie is doing a show in Canterlot in a couple weeks, did you hear about that?"

"I did..." Dawn was getting a little fed up. She let out a big sigh as she lit up her horn again, letting her teleport inside.

"SURPRISE!" Yelled nearly every pony she had ever met in Ponyville.

"HOLY CELESTIA'S MEADOW MUFFINS!" Dawn squealed back in surprise before Luna's battle mage training took over.

"My what?" Celestia asked as Dawn teleported several times backwards only a couple meters in random directions, each time firing a heavy gravity well spell in a random direction, while still managing to throw up a powerful shield spell around herself.

The many ponies in the room started to orbit the many wells that were cast, save Twilight and the princesses. Every pony in the air screamed at the falling sensations they no doubt felt. Pinkie Pie cheered as she did crazy eight figures around two different wells in the air.

Dawn let out a sigh of relief when her mind caught up with the fact that she was not under attack. She let down her own shield. Twilight and Pinkie is a cunning ponies indeed. She spotted her parents flying as hard as they could against the well that had trapped them.

"That's my student!" Luna roared with laughter over all the screams of the others ponies in the room.

Dawn gave each pony in the room some telekinetic support as she dispelled each well. She set the earth ponies and unicorns on the ground and let the pegasi fly away under their own power.

"What in Equestria did you do to poor Dawn during those self defense lessons?" Celestia asked with a face of utter shock that mimicked Twilight's.

"That was so cool!” Exclaimed Pinkie as she hopped around Dawn. “Do that again would yah, could yah?"

Dawn was getting her heart beat under control against the surge of adrenaline that had manifested seconds too late. She took deep breaths, closing her eyes to feel for her magic, which was still essentially unending now, by reflex. April swooped in from the ceiling to give Dawn a tight hug.

"I didn't mean to surprise you that much." April chuckled in Dawn's ear.

"I did!" Pinkie Pie cheered, breaching both April's and Dawn's personal space. "Were you really surprised?" She asked excitedly loud, now millimeters from Dawn's face, studying it for answer.

"Yes, well done." Dawn admitted, once her heart beat started to subside.

Pinkie then pushed Dawn over to the table in the middle of the library. The table was covered in pastries and sweets with one large cake. The cake was the color of Dawn's coat and mane. As the theme, her cutie mark adorned the top of the cake, surrounded by what she would only guess to be twenty five candles, all lit.

"You gotta make a wish!" Pinkie exclaimed as the crowd of ponies, who had recuperated from being flung in the air, surrounded the table and started singing happy birthday.

Dawn considered her wish. To be filthy rich really meant little now. How about a meteor strikes the eastern horizon so she could watch. That will do. I do like explosions of the natural disaster genre. She blew out the candles receiving a loud cheer from the crowd around her. Music erupted and the party began.
------

Dawn was drunk. April had really pushed her over the edge. She was getting annoyed with Dawn because she didn't 'look' drunk. April shoved glass after glass of hard cider and shots of whatever she could find her way. Of course per their agreement April drank an equal amount of everything she gave. Her surprise party had thinned out but was still booming loud as ever. Dawn and April were dancing, knocking each other's flanks clumsily. The princesses stayed and watched the party, Celestia eating cake nonstop. Luna was engaging in conversation with various ponies throughout the night. Metal and his fillyfriend, Sweetie Belle, were in a corner most of the night under the constant surveillance of Rarity, that is, when she wasn't fussing over Dawn's mane which has gone unseen by her for months apparently. Twilight and Trixie were with their friends who she and April still called the statue ponies. A couple stray ponies stayed around to enjoy the music and free food. Dawn's parents had left the party, claiming to be too old for the crowd.

Exhausted, Dawn stumbled over to the table in the center of the room to levitate some more treats into her and April's mouth. "How can you still eat?" April asked, letting the tart Dawn had picked out smash into her cheek.

"I'm a growing pony." Dawns yawned, before walking to and collapsing on the edge of the room.

"No, you’re not." April said, falling on top of Dawn.

Pinkie had insisted that the two stay for a count down into Dawn's real birthday but Dawn was just not feeling it. And by the looks of it neither was Celestia who for some reason was still here.

"You wanna go back to the tower now? I'm exhausted." Dawn whispered to April. April was lying on top of Dawn, snuggling into her mane.

"No. I still haven't seen you drunk." April said as she sprung up from Dawn's mane.

"This is about as drunk as I get." Her head was swimming.

April gave Dawn a thousand yard stare as she groaned. "Fine, take me." She said as she started to rub affectionately on Dawn.

"You’re defiantly drunk..." She said as she lifted April into the air with her magic. "I should go thank Pinkie and Twilight." She added as she placed April next to her.

"Ugh, fine." Groaned April.

The couple started to walk across the spinning room, stumbling along the way, letting each other support each other. They made it to the group with great effort, plopping themselves on their quarters in their circle. All eyes were on the two drunken new arrivals.

"Pinkie, great party." Dawn started to say.

"Aww, you're not leaving already? We only have ten minutes until midnight."

"Is that right..." Dawn looked around the room for a clock of any kind. She spotted one next to an owl. "Is that an owl?" She asked, nearly falling backwards from looking at where it was perched.

"That's Owlowiscious. You've never seen him before?" Twilight asked, clearly more sober than she was.

"Nope." Dawn answered, balancing herself on April, who looked like she was falling asleep.

"Darling, you must come to my shop some time next week and let me make you a dress." Rarity proposed for nth amount of times.

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"That's a great idea!" April yelled to the group, springing to life from her dreamy state, much louder than she should have been. Dawn was getting worried there for a moment.

"That's what I've been saying dear." Rarity said, nodding.

"When it comes to that fru fru stuff, Rarity's the pony to talk to." Applejack affirmed, chiming in.

"I come to you for Apples." Dawn nodded in agreement.

"Uhh yah..." Applejack agreed while narrowing her eyes on Dawn.

"You're really drunk." Rainbow Dash said bluntly.

"No she's not." April slurred.

"I think she was talking to you." Dawn laughed.

"I think it pertains to the both of you." Twilight said matter of factly with a light laugh.

April and Dawn nodded slowly in unison.
"OH OH! COUNT DOWN!" Pinkie Pie yelled out loud, pointing to the clock. "TEN! NINE!...

The room joined on the count down. Dawn fell on her back to look at the clock proper.

"THREE!" was the last thing Dawn heard before being magically pulled through the fabric of reality to some unknown destination. The stress of the spell was very forceful as if meant for greater distances than just across Equestria. Dawn opened her eyes to see nothing but white sand. White as sugar. The dunes of white sand seemed to glow, being the only source of light. The sky, if one could call it that, was black, making it feel boundless. Dawn found her footing in the sand and stood up proper. She looked around; there was nothing but the dunes of sand and the empty sky. She turned around to find Celestia and Luna. Luna looked as confused as Dawn felt and Celestia looked to be more relaxed than she had ever seen her to be.

"What's going on..." She was cut off by surge of energy, making her fall to the ground and slip into unconsciousness. Before she did so however she saw Luna fall to the glowing sand as well, gripping her head in pain.

-----

"All this time..."

"I'm sorry Luna."

"No. Nightmare moon was right to hide it from me. So Twilight..."

"No. Don't be ridiculous... Are going to be alright, Luna?"

"I've missed so much because of my mistakes. This is just one more to add to the list. I'm sorry Celestia."

"You take her home. I will go tell everyone that she is fine."

Comments

[Flutter_Shy]

HUZZAH!!! ITS ALIVE!!!