14 Days Until T-Day

Chapters

Prologue / 14 Days until T-Day
13 Days until T-Day
12 Days until T-Day
11 Days until T-Day
10 Days until T-Day
9 Days until T-Day

Prologue / 14 Days until T-Day

Trixie had gathered an imposing army. All wore her cutie mark on a blue band on their high left foreleg. It was strange to think how one showmare could have amassed such an army. They may not have been the best-armed, and they may not have been the best-trained, but nopony could doubt the fear that was inspired by The Great and Dreadful Trixie's army. Their tactics involved much intimidation and showmareship, which was to be expected from a mare like Trixie. Most of the time, she could win control of a city without conflict.

Most of the time.

The frightening thing was, though, she had done it all legally. Sure, there had been some intimidation going on, but all in all, nothing outright illegal. Merely walk up to a village with an army, ask politely to be placed in charge, and voila. The Great and Dreadful Trixie could draw another notch on her airship wall. Because she was not doing anything technically illegal, she had avoided calling down the Solar Guard. When it did come down to fighting, she had won and taken charge before the Solar Guard could show up, and so she hid behind the “leaders have the responsibility of defending against insubordination and rebellion” clause. It was simple, yet surprisingly effective; and there was nothing any prosecutors could do about it.

Of course, not being stupid, she had mainly kept to outlying villages and smaller cities. Trying to take Manehattan? Suicide. Canterlot? Even worse. But the cities she took, she held.

Of course, as in any conquered group, there was resistance. It showed up in every city she took over. It was scattered and piecemeal at best, but there were always similarities. The rebellion met at the twilight hour, and used a six pointed star as their symbol.

Unfortunately, these things were kept in shadows, with no chance of reinforcements. Trixie broke them all. But it is impossible to completely destroy a resistance. Crush? Yes. Defeat? Yes. Beat down? Yes. But destroy? Never.

Whispers hissed like wildfires, spreading through her conquered cities. They said, though only in shadows and secrecy, that there was only one pony that The Great and Dreadful Trixie ever feared: a certain librarian from a small hamlet known as Ponyville.

14 Days until T-Day
8:43 am
Ponyville Library

The mayor ran up to the library door and pounded on it as if her life depended on it (which, in her mind, it did). Within moments, a beleaguered Twilight Sparkle answered. She had obviously been studying late again; her mane was unkempt and she had small bags under her eyes, but those eyes still gleamed with power, eagerness, and readiness. “Yes? Oh! What is it, mayor?”

“We need your help!” the mayor responded frantically.

A third voice responded. “Yeah? What else is new?”

Twilight shot a warning look at Spike, who quickly scurried back into the other room. True though it may have been, there is a time and a place for everything.

“Well, come in, then,” Twilight invited.

Without any introduction, the mayor began. “I woke up this morning and found this on my door!” the mayor said, thrusting a paper into Twilight's face.

Twilight took a step back and flipped up her glasses to read the note, but the paper didn't have words. Instead, it was a picture. A star-tipped blue wand in front of a light blue sash. It was a cutie mark, and it was very familiar.

“Trixie,” Twilight hissed, dropping her glasses. They happily bounced on their chain; a stark contrast from the sudden shift of mood in the room.

Both knew what the mark represented. In one week, Trixie would come to the town and... how did she put it? “ask politely” to be put in charge. In another week, she would invade. In her history, it had only gotten that far once. The rumors that flew from that particular invasion buckled the morale of most of the other towns in the area. Twilight didn't believe half of those rumors. Nopony would be sadistic enough to put chain-metal saddles (sans blankets) on all the town leaders and give every citizen a ride, right?

“What are we going to do?” the mayor asked frightfully. She, on the other hoof, obviously believed said rumors.

Twilight's eyes narrowed. “What do you think we're going to do?”

“Let her take over?” the mayor suggested.

Twilight's eye twitched. “No... We're going to refuse. And then, one week later, guess what we're going to do?”

The mayor's eyes flicked from side to side. “Go out there, lay down, and beg for mercy?”

Twilight Sparkle had never before hoofslapped an elected official, but there was always a first time for everything.

“We're going to be ready. Spike? Get my checklist. We have work to do.”

13 Days until T-Day

13 Days until T-Day
9:13 am
Streets of Ponyville

Dust Dancer the earth pony groaned in trepidation. He didn't know what he had done to anger the Great and Dreadful Trixie, but it was obvious that someone upstairs hated him.

His assignment seemed simple—go to the library, and get information on the pony living there. Simple enough.... on paper. He knew the rumors just like everypony else. The Ponyville library was staffed by the only pony the Great and Dreadful Trixie ever feared.

And he had been chosen to check her out.

Lucky him.

Normally, he would have found this a great pun—checking out a librarian, checking books out of the library—but his mind kept wandering. He had seen Trixie. He had seen what she had done. He had seen what she was capable of. He had seen the horrors she had wrought.

So what could a simple librarian do to make her so afraid?

His mind brought out various possibilities, each less likely but more frightening than the last. She was an alicorn in disguise. She was Trixie's mother. (1) She was strong in dark magic and gained power by drinking foal's blood.

He shuddered at the last possibility. Looking up, he realized that he had arrived at the library. Even with his heart seizing up in fear, he took a moment to appreciate the effort it must have required to hollow out a tree. Admiration aside, it took a gargantuan effort for him to raise his forehoof and knock on the door. Maybe she was a lunar guard, but huge? A vision of gray fur, yellow slitted eyes, and sharp, dragon-like teeth filled his vision.

This vision was quickly disrupted when the door opened. Ironically, it was a gray pony with yellow eyes that opened the door; but there were no teeth or slitted eyes. She looked like just a regular gray pegasus with golden eyes. She didn't look scary. She looked... ditzy.

“Hi!” she chirped happily, smiling broadly (and showing off her normal, non-spiked teeth). “Come for a book?”

Dust Dancer found it hard to respond, because he was rather hypnotized by her eyes. One looked at him, while the other seemed to find something interesting in the sky.

After a few seconds of silence, she cocked her head at him. “Is that a yes, or a no?” she asked.

Still not sure how scared he should be of this legendary librarian, he decided to skip the eye pun that had just popped into his head (which would have been brilliant, if he did say so himself) and go with her suggestion. “Uh.... sure.”

“Then come on in!”

With slight apprehension, Dust Dancer entered. She turned away from him, leading him in. Being a red-blooded stallion, his eyes flicked down and traced her body down to her well-formed hindquarters. Her cutie mark seemed to be... bubbles? Strange.... He shook his head and scanned the library.

It seemed normal enough. Well, normal if you call a tree converted into a library 'normal'. Briefly musing upon the irony of paper being inside of a tree, he stopped to admire just how many books fit in here. Shelves upon shelves lined the walls, and they all looked organized. Cross-eyed or not, the mare seemed to have... wait for it... an eye for detail. It was probably the left one.

He was still mentally congratulating himself on such a clever pun when the gray pegasus interrupted his train of thought. She waved a hoof around as she pointed out various books. “If you want books, you came to the right place. We have cook books, comic books, history books, big books, little books, red books, blue books...” As she was walking and speaking and gesturing wildly, her flank hit a bookshelf—which promptly collapsed on top of her, burying her in books. She poked her head out of the pile and looked up sheepishly (which is surprisingly easy to pull off when you're wearing an open book as a hat). “Oops. My bad,” she giggled.

Dust Dancer made sure to not step on any of the books that scattered the floor. He quickly decided that the only thing Trixie could be worried about was if stupidity were contagious. Or maybe the fabled librarian of Ponyville was just a legend Trixie herself made up, just to raise a small glimmer of hope in her conquered ponies, only to crush that hope later.

He wouldn't put it past her to pull such a stunt. The term “cruel” could be a compliment to that blue mare. He shuddered as he thought back to what she had done to her last “personal assistant”. She had been a feisty cream-colored earth pony.... at first. The shackles he could understand, but not even removing them or letting her leave to relieve herself? And then making her clean up the mess after?

He pulled himself back into the present. “You know, I think I changed my mind. I'm not really in the mood for books.”

The pegasus shook the book off her head and flapped her wings, pulling her body out of the pile. She landed gently in front of the earth pony. “So what are you in the mood for?” she asked innocently, her wings still spread slightly.

Dust Dancer felt a slight flush in his cheeks. Was that an... invitation? Dust Dancer shook his head to clear it. “Oh, I don't know... Uh... Walking.” That sounded safe.

The pegasus cocked her head again. “Walking?” she asked, confused. Then, recognition dawned in her eyes. “Oh yeah. You funny earth ponies. You have to walk everywhere. Lame! I could give you a ride if you wanted,” she offered.

Dust Dancer blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Yeah!” the gray pegasus said. “I'm pretty strong from my part-time job at a moving company. I'm good at handling heavy loads and I have lots of endurance. You could ride me and I'll take you wherever you want to go!” she invited.

Ok. That was it. This mare was either crazy or stupid beyond measure but either way, Trixie should probably be more afraid of a turnip than this nutcase.

“I gotta go.” And Dust Dancer nearly flew out the front door. For an earth pony, his speed was rather impressive.

Twilight Sparkle, who had tears of laughter streaming from her eyes and was at that moment very grateful that she had also cast the silencing spell on herself as well as the invisibility spell, waited until their visitor was halfway down the street.

Regaining control of her laughing, she began to count down as she watched him run. “Three.... two.... one....” she whispered.

As she watched, their visitor suddenly found himself ambushed by what appeared to be a pink whirlwind. Even from halfway down the street, she could catch phrases like “new pony in town” and “welcome party” and “cake” and “deep fried squid”. She had no idea what had spawned that last comment, but then again, she had long ago given up trying to make sense of Pinkie Pie. Even from that far away, she could see the fear in his eyes as Pinkie Pie dragged him away to go meet some of the other members of the town.

She undid her enchantments, much to Derpy's surprise. “I can never get over how weird that looks,” the gray pegasus mused, watching in awe as Twilight seemingly appeared from nowhere.

Twilight was much prouder of her first few accomplishments. She levitated a worn, but official-looking checklist, and crossed off the first two items. “Bait-and-switch at library? Check. Launch 'Operation Pinkie Pie's Welcome To Crazy Town'? Check.” She smiled as she returned the checklist to her side. “That should do double duty of reassuring Trixie of no threat, and dampening morale for the rank and file soldiers.” She turned to her partner in saving the city and extended a hoof. “You did great, Derpy. The collapsing a bookshelf was a nice touch.”

Derpy grinned in slight embarrassment as she returned the offered hoofbump. “That part was an accident,” she admitted.

“Well, you did great anyway,” Twilight said. “Especially the four innuendos—the look on his face was priceless! I'll make you muffins later or something.”

Derpy's eyes narrowed slightly as she glowered at Twilight. “There were five, and the muffin thing is a bit of an overused stereotype,” she said. (2)

Twilight blinked in slight embarrassment. That was quite a common emotion today, wasn't it?

She started to stammer out an apology, but, with her eyes still narrowed, the gray mare interrupted. “That didn't mean no, by the way. I want chocolate chip ones, and don't skimp on the chocolate!”

13 Days until T-Day
2:03 pm
Trixie's Headquarters

The Great and Dreadful Trixie was in her airship, sitting in the captain's chair. She wasn't sure what had possessed her to obtain one of these, but she was very glad she had. It provided comfort, shelter, a deep feeling of power, an amazing view, and privacy when she wanted it.

Which, for Trixie, wasn't that often. She was a little bit like a changeling, except she seemed to feed off the attention of others instead of love.

Her eyes scanned the room. What wall space wasn't covered in maps or star charts was covered with images of her cutie mark, or her face. Her beautiful face. She smirked.

A light green pegasus flinched at the twisted smile. She was Trixie's “personal assistant”. That was her official title, but she wasn't just that. How many personal assistants wear a tight saddle, a gag, and shackles on all four legs? No, she was Trixie's plaything. Trixie had even chosen a saddle that let her spread her wings, while making sure that the shackles were securely connected to the ground, within reach of her captain's chair. It was freedom and captivity at the same time.

To a pegasus, being in the air but not flying, to be able to flap your wings but never achieve lift? Torture, pure and simple. Deep, psychological torture. She was breaking. Just like Trixie wanted it.

Trixie looked down at the pair of shears in her lap and stroked them gently. “Soon,” she murmured.

“Oh Supreme one!”

Trixie dropped her shears and turned to face the guard.

“Dust Dancer returns with his report!”

Trixie sniffed haughtily. “It's about time!” she said. “Send him in.” She hopped down from her chair with slight apprehension, and she felt her heart rate speed up. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, to be completely honest, but she knew what she was hoping it was not. She hoped it wasn't something like, “the librarian is a pretty purple unicorn mare with a star cutie mark”, or, “Guess who I ran into today? Princess Celestia!”

What did she get? A bedraggled-looking earth pony staggering into her cabin. He sat down hard, releasing dust into the air, and saluted shakily. “Dust Dancer reporting, oh Supreme One.” He took a deep breath. “All the ponies in this town are CRAZY!” he shouted.

Trixie paused, taking in the crazed look in Dust Dancer's eyes. “Explain,” she invited, but with a hint of steel behind it.

Dust Dancer needed no further prodding. “This librarian mare everypony's so afraid of is this stupid gray pegasus with two eyes going different directions and there's a monster in that town known as Pinkie Pie who throws parties for everypony and she sings and she talks and she talks and she talks and she talks and she sings and it's still stuck in my head...” He started rocking back and forth, a hint of insanity flaring in his eyes as he started to sing. “Oh, I don't care if a loud-mouthed mare shows up to give us a big mean scare / but Pinkie's here so have no fear, I welcome you with friends so dear!” He kept rocking, eyes becoming slightly unfocused as he continued. “She rhymed words like 'squid' and 'orange'.” His voice degenerated into a pitiful whine. “How did she rhyme a word with orange?” (3)

“So... no purple unicorn?” Trixie asked hopefully.

Dust Dancer wasn't done. “I got hit on by five mares. That's good, right? A stallion's dream, right? No! Not at all! They were all insane! This green one tried to tell me how much better it is to walk on your back hooves and kept talking about... about....” he struggled to remember the word, “'hoomins'! She was insane! Insane!” His voice dropped conspiratorially. “But the last one. She was a purple earth pony. She wasn't insane. She was just drunk off her rocker!”

“She'd have to be, to find you attractive,” Trixie sniped.

“She tried to tongue kiss me two seconds after meeting me! And I'm pretty sure she had thrown up thirty seconds earlier!” Dust Dancer shuddered, paused to take a breath, and suddenly processed her first question. “Nope, no purple unicorns. Unless you count foals. I saw two or three, and I'm pretty sure they had changing cutie marks. Why? Looking for a new toy?”

“Oh, no. Trixie has... standards... for her assistants,” Trixie said, casting a glance at the light green pegasus mare who was still shackled by her chair. Trixie gave her a quick smile, and was rewarded by a sharp (yet hindered) gasp, her eyes reflexively widening and the pupils shrinking. The pegasus might have said something as well, but with that gag in her mouth, who knew what she was trying to say? And furthermore, who cared? That reminded Trixie... this “assistant” was almost broken completely. She would need to get a new one soon. After she re-clipped her wings, of course. That did wonders for breaking pegasi, and Trixie found it very therapeutic for herself.

Dust Dancer had kept rambling in the midst of Trixie's thoughts. “But there is a white unicorn who makes dresses and tried to get me to try one on, this monstrosity of a stallion that sells apples and just glares at you—his legs are as big around as my body!—and three little fillies who call themselves the cutie mark something or others and they are loud and everypony is loud and everypony is crazy and I do NOT want to go back there again!” His speech devolved into incoherent mutterings, and he rocked back and forth on the ground.

The lack of reports of a certain purple unicorn had relieved Trixie, and she decided that she had heard enough. “Take him away,” she ordered, waving a hoof.

Dust Dancer let himself be dragged away, breaking into song again. “Forests, hills, and loads of thrills, I welcome you to Ponyville! / I hope you'll stay another day, yes, making friends is Pinkie's way!”

Trixie walked back to her chair and hopped up. She stretched a hoof out to run it through the green pegasus's mane, and was rewarded by a sharp flinch and an involuntary whimper. Trixie reached out with her magic and pulled her in, giving her a deep hug as she stroked her mane. She could feel the other mare's heartbeat racing in fear. Perfect.

“Surely you're not that afraid of little old Trixie, are you?” she asked, faux sadness entering her voice. “You are, aren't you. That's ok. Trixie will let you leave tonight. She might throw you back into your cell with the rest of your rebel friends... or maybe she'll let you go go.” She could feel her heartbeat slow slightly. She brushed a hoof through her mane in a strange mockery of tenderness. “Yes, that sounds good, doesn't it? No more shackles, no more ball gag... but the saddle stays, of course.” Sensing another shudder, she pulled the mare in tighter and dropped the third-person speech. “Shh... shh...” Trixie soothed, speaking tenderly to the mare. “I'll let you go tonight, I promise. I just want to...” she let her hooves wander down to the bottom of her wings and drew small circles around the base, which was a semi-intimate gesture usually reserved only for lovers, “...play with your wings a bit first.” She levitated her rather large pair of shears and grinned evilly.

With a quick gasp (hampered by her gag, of course), the pegasus's eyes went wide, and she promptly fainted.

Trixie sighed impatiently and dropped her shears as she shoved the unconscious pegasus off her lap. Clipping wings was much more fun when the pegasus in question was awake. She sighed, before coming to a decision: she would just do one wing to start, and save the second for when she woke up again. After all, Trixie had nothing but time. She smiled as she lifted the shears and stretched out the other mare's right wing. All was going exactly according to plan.

13 days until T-Day
8:56 pm
Ponyville Library

Twilight softly walked past Derpy, who was napping on a cloud. She had to stay at the library, just in case another spy showed up to confirm the lack of a certain purple unicorn. Twilight was pretty glad she had chosen a pegasus to be her replacement—Twilight had moved to the basement couch so that Derpy could use her bed; but after the first night the pegasus had woken up with a really nasty crick in her neck, and decided that a bed is much less comfy than a cloud, and thus Twilight had gotten her bed back.

She levitated her checklist. “Step three—codenamed Estrus Cycle, complete. If that doesn't demoralize Trixie's soldiers, nothing will. Step three and a half, Cutie-Mark Crusaders Anti-spy tacticians? Check. If that stallion has ANY sanity left, it would be a miracle.” She smiled. “This is going exactly according to plan.” (4)

13 Days until T-Day
10:56 pm
Edge of Everfree Forest

It was dark as the blue unicorn and green pegasus stood at the edge of the forest. Trixie had made her shuffle all the way out here before taking off the shackles. She rubbed a foreleg, which had been rubbed red and raw from the grinding metal. A trickle of blood ran down one leg, and more raw spots came from where the too tight saddle had rubbed against her body.

Trixie sniffed. “Well, like Trixie promised, you are free to go.”

The green pegasus looked pleadingly at Trixie.

Trixie paused in mock confusion, and then understanding 'dawned'. “Oh, that's right,” Trixie said. “Trixie said she'd take off the gag, too.”

The pegasus nodded, her eyes appealing for mercy.

“She lied.” And Trixie reared back and slapped her flank. Now sporting a red mark on her flank as well as on her hooves, the pegasus took off into the night.

Right into the heart of the Everfree forest.

Trixie smiled deviously. She had spent a week in the Everfree Forest back many years ago. She had survived using only her pure skill and abilities.

And a healthy dose of pure luck, but she didn't share that part with anypony.

One broken pegasus with clipped wings, running blindly into the forest? She'd be dead in a day.

“I think I want a unicorn next time,” she mused, already mentally running through the list of high ranking prisoners.

12 Days until T-Day

12 Days until T-Day
8:00 am
Trixie's Airship

An earth pony guard stood at moderate attention outside the room which served as a holding area. His ears flicked as he heard hoofsteps coming down the hall, but he calmed as he recognized the visitor, and nodded in greeting.

“I got food fer Dust Dancer,” the newcoming unicorn announced, gesturing to the plate floating in his green magic. He dropped formality (what little he had, that is). “How's he doin', anyway?”

In answer, the guard slid open the communication grate, where they could still hear him singing.

“Yes, I'm sure glad on this day we've had, and that you're spending time with me! / 'Cause in the end we are all friends, and that's what magic's s'pposed to be!”

The unicorn, more than a little bit horrified, nodded, and finally managed to squeak out, “That bad, eh?”

The earth pony nodded, then looked around to ensure privacy. He leaned in close and whispered, “I don't know about you, and you didn't hear me say this, but I think this town is just all around bad news.”

The unicorn nodded in agreement as he rubbed his legband nervously.

12 Days until T-Day
10:20 am
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest, near Zecora's hut

Fluttershy walked down the river's bank, a basket in her mouth, scanning for.... there they were. She put down the basket and bit off patches of a long, thin-bladed grass, and placed them gently into the basket.

She grinned as she remembered the last time she had played with poison lemongrass. Luckily, it only affected unicorns. Too bad it also made a sweet and tasty addition to tea.... She had no idea why Twilight had asked for it again, but she had asked, so Fluttershy would deliver.

Picking up her basket again, she continued walking.

Suddenly, she heard leaves rustling. Her heart started beating faster. Being by a river, it was more than likely just a thirsty animal or something; but friend or not, surprises never ceased to unnerve her. Then, she thought she heard whimpering, and Kindness kicked in and overpowered fear. Dropping her basket again, she looked around. She headed towards where she thought the sound had come from, ears pricked to hear it again.

A rustling in a bush caught her attention. She took a step forward. “Are you ok?” she asked.

The bush rustled, as if whatever was inside (and it was large, whatever it was) was trying to back up and escape.

“No, don't leave,” Fluttershy pleaded. She lay down, trying her best (and succeeding wondrously) to look unintimidating. (1) “I don't want to hurt you. You can trust me.”

The bush shook a little bit, as if uncertain.

Fluttershy smiled and didn't move. Having worked with animals, she knew how to be patient.

12 Days until T-Day
10:45 am
Main Street, Ponyville; outside one of the restaurants that line the street

Twilight Sparkle wandered the streets of Ponyville. Nopony greeted her; in fact, nopony even looked at her.

Then again, she was wearing an invisibility spell, so that wasn't entirely unexpected. After all, you can't just go out and about and show yourself and your cutie mark to the world when you're trying to lay low and pretend you're not in town anymore. Ponyville may have been small, but there were quite a few ponies that passed through on their ways to other places, and Twilight had not yet perfected a spell for detecting spies.

That was not from lack of trying, though. Problem is, no one in Ponyville was a spy. Or at least, would admit to being a spy. (2)

So Twilight walked through the streets, silent and alone. She needed to talk to Rarity for the next stage in her plan. She walked quickly and purposefully down the street. Twilight briefly wondered what else could be done with this spell, but quickly banished that thought from her mind. She would never use this spell for eavesdropping.

“So did you hear that Trixie is coming?”

Well... maybe if it was a good research opportunity. She paused at a table where two stallions were conversing over sandwiches and drinks.

“Yeah, I heard; everypony has heard. Except maybe Twilight Sparkle.”

“She hasn't come out of the library yet, eh?”

Twilight grinned. Her facade was working perfectly. Right as she thought this, she heard a loud noise behind her, and was forced to do a quick teleportation to avoid a little mob of ponies running by. Apparently, Sugarcube Corner had hot doughnuts now, and that little group didn't care how many ponies—invisible as well as visible—they ran over in their quest for sugar.

Now standing on top of another table, she briefly considered dancing while nopony could see her, but decided against it in favor of listening to the rest of the conversation.

“Either that, or she took that tight flank of hers and skipped town. I mean, I probably would, if I knew Trixie had it in for me.”

Twilight stared in shock at what she had just heard. Did they really think she would abandon her home because of one deranged unicorn?

“I'm sure she's working on something,” his companion offered. “I mean, she is the Element of Magic.”

Twilight nodded in appreciation, glad that her town had not lost complete faith in her.

“Yeah... she's gone," the first said dismissively. "Prolly went down to Las Pegasus or something, working in a show. The kind with socks.” The stallion looked down to grab the untouched half of his sandwich... and found it gone.

“Did you take my sandwich?” he accused his friend.

The other stallion shrugged as he took a drink. “No. Maybe a ghost got hungry. Or maybe you ate it already, fatty.”

12 Days until T-Day
10:51 am
Main Street, Ponyville; en route to the Carousel Boutique

Twilight grumbled as she took an angry bite of the pilfered sandwich. They talked about her like she wasn't even there! And even insinuating that she would perform in socks—or even wear them!

Five minutes later, she realized why they had been so bold, and burst out laughing.

12 Days until T-Day
11:30 am
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest

Zecora wandered through the forest, saddlebags full of lemongrass. Well, they were supposed to be full, but one bag was completely empty and the other was not even a third of the way. She traveled through forests, across hills and glades, but couldn't find many of those elusive blades.

While wondering how these particular grasses made seeds, so as to be prepared next time and to study their properties better, she came across Fluttershy who was facing a bush with her wings extended lazily as she basked in the sunshine. Zecora made sure to scuff a hoof before speaking, so as not to frighten her.

Fluttershy turned with her ears pricked high, but calmed visibly when she recognized her visitor. “Oh! Hi, Zecora,” she said.

“How goes your search, young pegasus? My efforts have yielded only this,” Zecora said, gesturing at her nearly empty saddlebags.

Fluttershy pointed a hoof at the bush. “I think there's some hurt animal hiding in that bush, and I'm waiting until he feels safe enough to come out.”

Zecora raised an eyebrow, but merely said, “If I've learned anything from my past, it's 'sometimes it's better not to ask'.” She picked up Fluttershy's basket (also nearly empty) and dumped it into her saddlebags. She looked at the level sadly. “Twilight said we'd need much more, but where to find it? I'm not quite sure.”

“It grows best by rivers. I think there's another patch just upstream that way,” Fluttershy said, pointing.

Zecora blinked. “You knew where the grasses like to grow, and yet neglected to tell me so?”

Fluttershy blushed in embarrassment. “I... thought you knew....” she said, sinking lower into the ground.

Zecora, who of course didn't bear any hard feelings whatsoever towards Fluttershy, turned back to the forest. “Fear not, my young yellow friend, I'll find these grasses in the end.”

Fluttershy smiled and turned back to the bush. It was silent. Apparently, Zecora had frightened her target, and now she would have to wait longer. Ah well--it was a beautiful day today, anyway.

12 Days until T-Day
12:15 pm
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest

Fluttershy tried to calm her heart, but she was pretty excited. Was it a hoof coming out of the bush? Was it a pony tentatively poking her nose out? She hoped it was.

The moment was interrupted by Zecora prancing out of the forest, the bracelets on her leg jingling happily. “Success! Success! I have enough! Thank you, Fluttershy, you know your stuff!”

Fluttershy's heart was racing again, but this time from surprise. She turned back towards the bush.... and the hoof was gone.

Fluttershy fought back a sigh and resettled herself.

12 Days until T-Day
1:00 pm
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest

Fluttershy smiled as the bush began rustling again. She spoke softly. “Don't worry. I'm Fluttershy, and I'm a friend to anyone here in the forest.”

It WAS a hoof! Fluttershy squinted, trying to make out the features of the pony.

As soon as she stepped into the light, Fluttershy couldn't help but gasp in horror.

The green pegasus looked as if she had been through a fight with an avalanche. Scratches, most of them scabbed over, covered her body; they were most common on her face and front. She looked tired, sick, and dehydrated at best. Dried blood clung to her forehooves, and small trails of blood led down from a saddle that was tied way too tightly, the saddle having rubbed the skin raw until breaking. Tearstains ran down her cheeks; it was obvious that she had been crying. And what was that in her mouth?

Fluttershy managed to restrain herself enough to walk slowly up, wings down in a show of submission. “What happened to you?” she whispered.

The pegasus couldn't say anything, and looked down at... whatever it was stick in her mouth—in answer. So, of course, that strange object was the thing Fluttershy started with. Fluttering her wings softly, she got behind her and started to undo the knot.

The green pegasus thought that she was just wasting her time, but Fluttershy had had much practice tying knots and bandages and untying them as well, thanks to her veterinary duties. To her surprise, her mouth soon was free.

“Th- thank you,” the green pegasus said, her voice scratchy from thirst and disuse.

Fluttershy had moved on to the saddle now, her dexterous tongue making quick work of the knots Trixie had left. The green pegasus let out a sigh of pain and relief as the saddle slipped off, and stretched gratefully.

“You're not going anywhere like that,” Fluttershy said. “Come back with me to my house. Can you fly?”

The green pegasus spread and flapped her wings instinctively... then remembered that they had been clipped.

The next thing she knew, Fluttershy had her forelegs wrapped around her in a tight, comforting hug. Was she... crying?

“Your wings have been clipped,” she sobbed. “That is so awful... Who would do such a thing?”

The last time she had been held like this, it had been Trixie's doing, and a quite terrifying experience; but this time, she felt... safe. Even so, she wasn't sure how to respond. It had been so long since she had had pleasant pony company, she simply couldn't remember what to do. Hesitantly, she decided to return the gesture and lifted one leg and wrapped it around Fluttershy. She felt the warmth from the yellow pegasus, and could feel her heart beat.

Somehow, she was feeling better already.

12 Days until T-Day
1:45 pm
Fluttershy's cottage

Angel Bunny is a bit of an arrogant s.o.b., but he knows the limits. He will push them, for sure; but won't ever cross the line completely.

He tried it once. Just once.

That day is legendary among the forest animals.

He doesn't speak of that day. (3)

When he saw the green pegasus walking behind Fluttershy, he could instantly see that she would be no fun, and left, but not before throwing an angry, expectant glance at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy knew that look. “Be nice. She's been through a lot.”

Angel Bunny rolled his eyes, but obediently left.

Fluttershy turned back to her new guest. “First, let's get you patched up, and then find you something to eat.”

The green pegasus asked something that had been bothering her. “Why? Why are you helping me?”

Fluttershy paused, genuinely confused at the question. “Why wouldn't I?” she answered.

“You just met me, you don't know me, you've never seen me before, you can't trust me. For all you know I'm a spy or a murderer,” the green pegasus responded, but that's all she could say before she began coughing.

Fluttershy rested a hoof on her shoulder until she stopped. “Those aren't good reasons not to,” she answered, and left to go grab a first aid kit.

Shocked, the green pegasus dropped to her haunches... only to stand up and hiss in pain as the open scratches on her back touched the ground.

“Well, at least I know where to start bandaging,” Fluttershy said. (4)

12 Days until T-Day
8:58 pm
Ponyville Library

Twilight methodically turned down her covers, fluffed her pillow, shut the window drapes, and closed the door before levitating out her list again.

“All right. Visit Rarity? Check. Discuss designs? Check. Begin work on Rainbow Dash's suit? Check.” That last one had taken most of her day.

“Make Derpy muffins—check!” came from the gray pegasus sitting happily on the cloud. She patted the cloud contentedly.

Twilight nodded, wondering if she should mention that storing the muffins in the cloud (as Derpy had done) would probably make them soggy in the morning. She decided against it for the sake of keeping peace, and settled for making another check on her list. “Apology muffins? Check. Check on Apple family? Check—the letters were sent yesterday morning. Tower construction? Check--plans are laid, and work begins tomorrow.” She rolled the list up and put it away. Turning to Derpy, she grinned excitedly. “Things are going great. We'll be ready ahead of schedule at this rate.”

Derpy smiled. “We trust you, Twilight. All of us.”

“All of you?” Twilight raised an eyebrow at her choice of words. "Do you have somepony else in that cloud?"

Derpy scrunched her nose. "No, silly... 'Us' us. This is our home,” she said simply, shifting her body deeper into the cloud until nothing but her ears were visible. Apparently, this was comfortable for pegasi. “We're not leaving, and you're the only one that can save us.” She poked her head back out of the cloud and gave a bright smile. “So no pressure or anything.”

Twilight giggled. “Don't worry. We'll be fine.” I think, she silently added.

12 Days until T-Day
9:56 pm
Trixie's bedroom on Trixie's airship

Trixie admired herself in the full-length mirror (with extra emphasis on her hindquarters) one last time before returning to her bed. In all honesty, she was very happy that today there had been no letter sent, admitting defeat. Deep inside, she hoped that it would not come. Nothing would make her happier than crushing the little town that had proved her downfall.

A clanking sound came from the side of the bed, and Trixie heard a small "mmph?" sound.

Well... almost nothing. Trixie couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face as she turned to the bound unicorn.

"No, Star Charmer," Trixie said smugly, "Trixie did not forget to take off the chains. You'll find a comfortable spot to sleep eventually, and I promise that the magic suppressor does stop itching. Usually. But do try to keep it down, will you? Trixie needs her beauty sleep."

"Mmgph ph mphpn iphp!"

Trixie tsked. "Now, now, Miss Star, do you lick your mother with that tongue?"

Star Charmer's eyes narrowed. "Grmph ph imphp rimh! Cksphm kr llsr!"

Trixie looked up with a look of surprise and regret on her face. "Is she now? Because of Trixie's doing? Oh... she's so, so sorry." Trixie paused, and her expression returned to its normal state of haughty derision. "Actually, that's a lie: she's not. But you wouldn't know that, because of her superior acting skills."

"Mph kphng mphls ah phsk hnk!"

"Kiss your flank? Oh ho ho, Trixie didn't know you were like that! But now that she knows, she'll be happy to oblige... tomorrow, that is, as she's just not in the mood at the moment. Please try to contain your desires until then."

"Gphrmnph ckhp shpih hsphpnme shpmeih hpoch!" Star Charmer was now blushing furiously as she swore angrily. She was not happy, to say the least.

In response, Trixie merely cast a silencing spell over her bed and watched as Star Charmer continued to angrily bang her chains against the ground, making a loud noise that Trixie couldn't hear. She couldn't suppress a giggle as Star Charmer continued to curse at her through the gag in her mouth. This unicorn was a feisty one. She might last three weeks, maybe even four. Trixie sighed in contentment. This never got old.

11 Days until T-Day

11 Days until T-Day
Trixie's Airship
8:12 am

Trixie was in a good mood as she readjusted herself deeper into her captain's chair. That imbecile of a chef had managed to not burn the pancakes this morning, and she was greatly enjoying her breakfast of pancakes drenched in syrup. At least, she was, until a little growl sounded next to her, interrupting her breakfast.

Trixie turned to see Sky Dancer, who had not been given breakfast, looking at her with a flat look.

“Did you say something?” Trixie asked, cocking her head in confusion.

Sky Dancer kept her expression blank.

“That wasn't you, was it?”

Sky Dancer said nothing.

“Oh, was that your stomach? Are you hungry?” Trixie asked kindly. She levitated over a fork, dripping with syrup and loaded with pancake-y goodness. “Do you want a bite?”

Sky Dancer kept her face emotionless, but her eyes flicked quickly to the offered fork before returning to Trixie. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

Trixie shrugged. “Your loss,” she said, popping the pancake into her mouth. She hid a smile. Sky Dancer would be given lunch, of course, but it was the little things that showed who was in charge.

And frankly, these were delicious pancakes.

Behind her, a guard sighed lightly. She was fighting well, but he had seen so many “assistants” come and so many go. She would break, too, eventually. The only question was how long it would take.

11 Days until T-Day
Sweet Apple Acres
10:57 am

Apple Bloom marched proudly as she led members of her extended family from the train platform through Ponyville. She had certainly grown into a fine young farm mare, and she had already received numerous compliments from relatives she hadn't seen in a while, and she had happily shown off her muscular frame and shiny cutie mark.

And some of that pride may have been family pride. As she led the little coalition of ponies—most of them stallions—through town, mares everywhere stopped, turned, and stared. Apple Bloom even saw one of the flower ponies lick her lips with longing.

Heh. Who says Apples aren't the best?

Soon enough (too soon, if you asked the mares in town), they arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack welcomed them with warm smiles and warmer apple pies, fresh from the oven.

“Thank y'all for comin' out!” she said as she sliced and served. “Really means a lot t' me that y'all'd come out here on such short notice. Ah barely sent those letters two days ago.”

Her cousin smiled as he took the plate. “Oh, it's no trouble at all.” Then he smiled. “You know the Rule,” he said. He may have smiled, but the glint in his eyes was sharper than iron. (1)

Applejack, too, knew the Rule. “Well, thank ya again. Twilight wants us to work on throwing hay bales for distance, fer some reason.”

“She didn't tell you why?”

Applejack shrugged. “Nope, so Ah ain't exactly sure, and Ah haven't asked her 'cause Ah know that her explanation would jus' leave my head spinnin'” (here, she rolled her eyes to exaggerate her point) “so Ah say we just run with it.”

Her family was just as easygoing as she was, and accepted this without question. “Well, she certainly picked the right ponies for the job!” one said around a mouthful of pie.

Applejack was about to reply when she noticed that her hat was no longer on her head. She spun around, and saw it floating in the air. There was no glow of magic about it; it just floated.

“What in tarnation...” she muttered, grabbing at it, but it hopped out of the way.

“Come back here!” she yelled, chasing the hat through the field. Catching up to her escaping keepsake, she launched herself at the hat—and was surprised to feel resistance between her and the ground. Warm resistance. Almost as if she had tackled another pony...

She looked down to see a purple unicorn underneath her. Having lost her concentration, the invisibility spell had dropped, revealing a very dazed Twilight Sparkle to the world. Her eyes shifted in and out of focus.

“Twi?”

“Came to check on your family.... they showed up and they're looking really good...” Twilight said, her speech slightly slurred. She levitated her checklist and drew a shaky check through one box. “Keep 'em practicing... Pick the top eight hay throwers in three days, the rest will be defensive line.... They all look like they can hold their own in a fight...”

“Those Trixie-ites won't know what hit 'em,” Applejack promised proudly. She paused. “Ah should get up now, shouldn't Ah?”

“Yes, please,” Twilight groaned.

Applejack got up and helped Twilight to her hooves. “Anythin' else goin' on today?”

Twilight examined the checklist. “I've planned on visiting Rarity and seeing how far she's gotten on her two assignments, and they're starting construction on the towers today so I'll go watch that. It's a pretty easy day.”

Applejack nodded. “Sounds good. Hey, 'afore ya go...” She stretched out one hind leg and gave a tree a kick. One pristine apple fell from the tree and landed. right in front of Twilight. “On me.”

11 Days until T-Day
Carousel Boutique
11:37 am

Rarity found it the slightest bit strange that she would be talking to an invisible pony, but a lady takes whatever comes in stride.

“So, as you can see, this is precisely fitted to Rainbow Dash's form. All I have to do is finish the hood and it will be completed.”

“Perfect,” Twilight's voice came from... somewhere. Rarity shivered. That invisibility spell was quite disorienting. “Pegasi training can start tomorrow, right on schedule. How is the second project coming?”

Rarity's sudden twitching eye and fluttering ear gave Twilight her primary answer; but before Rarity could elaborate, the bell by the door rang. In walked a seafoam green unicorn, with a slightly nervous expression on her face as she looked at the ground.

“Hello, Lyra,” Rarity greeted her. “How may I help you today?”

Lyra looked up and gave a small smile, and Rarity understood immediately. “You're not here for a new outfit, are you?”

Lyra shook her head no. “No. I'm... well... Bon Bon... well... you see, it's... well...”

Rarity could have sworn she heard one of her ponnekins sigh, and she shot it an angry glare before turning back to Lyra and placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Oh, take your time, darling.”

“She wants to leave.”

“Leave?” Rarity was taken aback. “Whatever for?”

“She thinks we're sitting ducks here. And I know all about sitting.”

Rarity didn't understand that last part, but she nodded agreeably. “Well, I suppose I could see that. I mean, it's not like Twilight has been walking around recently, has she? I could certainly imagine that would make some ponies nervous.”

“No. That's probably part of the problem. Bon Bon thinks... she thinks she ran away and abandoned us.”

One of the ponnekins gave a little snort, and Rarity turned and gave it a glare. “That reminds me, I need to get Opal her hairball medicine,” she growled through clenched teeth. She turned back to Lyra and spoke gently. “I'm not supposed to say too much, dear, but I have it on good authority that Twilight is still here, and she's planning a way for us to come through on top.” (2)

“Are you sure? When I told Bon Bon that, she accused me of just defending another unicorn.”

“Well, Bon Bon has always been a bit brash,” Rarity conceded, before a slightly playful look crossed her face. “So you came to another unicorn for your information?”

Lyra gave a slight chuckle. “Well, I trust you, Rarity; you've always been trustworthy. You keep all our orders secret, after all.”

“Oh, yes.” It was Rarity's turn to give a slight chuckle, but this one was tainted with nervousness. “That I do.”

Lyra smiled and leaned in close. “Speaking of which...”

“Now?” Rarity squeaked.

Lyra looked around. “There's nopony else here, is there?”

Rarity gave a tense smile and her eyes flicked to one side. “Unless there's an invisible pony hiding behind one of my ponnekins, no.”

Lyra laughed, her eyes lighting up for the first time all day. “You're funny. That spell's nearly impossible to hold for longer than a minute.” She leaned in closer, licking her teeth in excitement. “So, when's it gonna be done?”

Rarity gave a nervous giggle and looked back to where she had last heard Twilight before responding, “I'm... finishing touches, really. And minor fitting, of course.”

“Can I try it on now?”

“No!” Rarity squealed, before looking back sheepishly. “I mean... Come back tonight. I'm working on a project for Twilight right now and that's top priority.”

Lyra frowned slightly. “Ok...” she said, before her eyes popped back up again. “So, what's she into?”

“Wha-? I never would... I mean...” Rarity stumbled before blurting, “It's for Rainbow Dash, actually.”

Lyra laughed. “I didn't mean it like that! But, now that you say that...”

“No! I mean, I don't know if she does or not, such a thing doesn't come up often in good conversation, but it's a lightning-proof suit.”

Lyra's jaw dropped. “And I thought I was into some strange stuff...”

Rarity let out an anguished squeal. “No, no no no no. Not like that. It's for pegasus training. Remember how I said Twilight was working on a plan? I'm part of that plan, and for that she needs a lightning-proof suit for Rainbow Dash and an outfit fit from Tartarus for Pinkie Pie.” She none-too-gently began to nudge Lyra towards the door. “And I'm really very sorry, but I must get back to work if I am to be done by tomorrow, so please come back later tonight, and we'll discuss your outfit then.”

“All right!” Lyra agreed happily as she headed towards the door. “I love your stuff. It's tight where it should be, but still flexible enough and leaves me free enough to do the things I like, like...”

“And we're leaving! We're leaving. If Bon Bon wants the opinion of an earth pony, the Cakes are in on this, too. Right up the road. Goodbye!”

Sticking her tongue out playfully, Lyra headed out the door, with a spring in her step that certainly wasn't there before.

No sooner had the door shut than Rarity turned towards where she assumed Twilight was and spoke in a flat voice. “I trust you already know that that conversation never leaves this room, correct?”

Silence answered.

“Correct?”

“Sorry,” Twilight's voice came from behind Rarity. “Forgot I cast the silencing spell. What was that all about?”

“Let's just say that while I choose the spa for tension release, other ponies choose... other activities that require... special outfits.”

There was silence for a while.

“Do I want to ask?” Twilight finally asked.

“No.” Rarity's response was quick and final. “No, you really don't.”

Twilight shrugged, though Rarity couldn't see. “So what was that you were saying about Pinkie's outfit?”

Rarity resumed her normal attitude. “Oh, it's horrid! So many patches, so many designs on those patches, and the magic-repellant certainly isn't easy to weave into the fabric, and it has to be even, for what you have planned.... I've barely gotten two patches done, and there's no way I'll be able to keep up with this and my normal work at this rate. I'm simply swamped!”

Rarity heard the sound of magic, and a parchment being unrolled. “Hmm... Today I'm supposed to check on the tower construction, and that's about it. That shouldn't take too long, so I'll come back and help you when I'm done.”

“Please do,” Rarity said, trying and failing to hide her relief. “It has been a nightmare.”

“Oh, trust me,” Twilight said, and Rarity could almost hear her devious grin. “Nightmare is exactly what we're going for.”

11 Days until T-Day
Construction Site
2:43 pm

Twilight scrunched her face, deep in thought, as she walked away from the construction site. Sure, the ponies had seemed suspicious of the order for four large wooden towers, but when the mayor orders a rush job with bonus pay, objections vanish like dew in summer.

Hmm... that was another research project right there, wasn't it?

Twilight shook her head as she walked. They had started, the foundation looked firm, the wood looked fine, but what was really occupying Twilight's mind was the way the ponies would whistle at mares walking by.

What would that be like, to be on the receiving end? How strange it must be, to be the object of somepony's affection... and yet, how fun at the same time...

Twilight shook her head harder this time, trying to clear it. She had more important things to worry about. Right now, and next on the checklist, was helping Rarity.

11 Days until T-Day
Ponyville Library
7:25 pm

Derpy looked up from her book at the sound of magic. She cocked her head and ran through the various scenarios, ranging from 'Trixie's attack has started!' to 'aliens are attacking', but soon deciding that the most likely answer was 'Twilight is home'. But if that were the case, why hadn't at least said 'hello', 'how was your day', or, at the very least, 'are those blueberry muffins I smell?'. And why was she home so early?

Derpy bit her lip in indecision, but finally decided that as temporary librarian and caretaker, it was her responsibility to investigate, and so she marked her page, rolled off the cloud, and trotted up the stairs.

Sure enough, Twilight was home. At least, that seemed the most logical explanation for the pony-sized indentation on top of the bed.

“Twilight?” Derpy decided to ask, just to be sure.

“Hi, Derpy,” came Twilight's muffled reply.

“Are you ok?”

“No. Yes. Maybe.”

“What happened?”

Twilight exhaled, still speaking as if she were burying her face into a pillow. “I miscalculated.”

Derpy licked her lips nervously. She had heard stories of what Trixie had done, and anything that jeopardized Twilight's plan was indeed cause for concern. “You can always recalculate, though, right?” she asked, hoping she didn't sound too desperate.

Twilight gave a little grunt in reply. “Not like that... Pinkie's outfit is... oh, right. Can't tell you anything.”

Derpy nodded. This was established protocol. Sure, the mental-extraction spell was hard to cast, but it was effective, and also painful. Truth potions require but a month to stew, and are much easier to brew. {Thanks to Zecora for this line} Therefore, a captured pony could be forced to tell the truth, and say that they had been kept in the dark, thus sparing them the painful extraction spell. Although it wasn't very likely, Twilight didn't want to take any chances, and had sworn everypony she was working with to secrecy, and hadn't cross-shared any more information than she had had to.

“Let's just say that it'll take twice as long to do what I wanted. Luckily, I built in some cushion room, but now I'll have to be at Rarity's more often.”

Derpy giggled. “Don't tell Spike that. He'll get jealous that you're spending time at his crush's and he's not.”

“How did... how did you...?”

Derpy stuck her tongue out playfully, and relaxed her eyes, letting them shift and spin to face different directions. “I see eeeeverything, Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a surprisingly creepy voice, “Eeeeevrryythiiiiing.” (3)

Twilight gave a slight chuckle, and when she spoke again, Derpy could hear a smile in her voice for the first time all evening. “All rightie, then. Ready for pegasus training tomorrow?”

Derpy snorted. “Yeah. Rainbow Dash has been telling everypony. Eleven am sharp, she said.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “But Blossomforth and I have a bet going that she'll be late.”

“I'm in charge of that meeting, Derpy. She'll be there on time, even if I have to drag her tail there myself.”

Derpy grunted as she realized that she was on the losing end of that bet, but relaxed. “Ah well. Any excuse to bake is fine by me.” She paused. “That reminds me. Blueberry muffin?”

“Sure.”

Within seconds, Derpy returned with three of the baked goods. She laid two down on the bed and kept one for herself. “You sound a bit stressed,” she said, gently stroking a hoof down where she assumed her mane would be.

“Derpy? Please stop touching my tail.”

Well, that was awkward. “Well, un-invisible yourself and I'll stroke your mane properly,” Derpy said.

Twilight sighed, but canceled the spell, revealing a very strange position. Derpy leaned closer and stroked her mane. “You're going to be fine. You've planned for everything, and with you at the helm, there's no storm we can't weather.”

And, for some reason, such simple words of affirmation helped Twilight relax. “I guess you're right,” she said, around a mouthful of blueberry muffin.

“I know I'm right. There's a reason you're the Element of Magic and why you're always in charge of Winter Wrap-up, and you're using both talents greatly.” She paused. “I don't think that's a word.”

Twilight smiled. “You know, you make a great mother.”

Derpy giggled. “I hope so. Habits die hard, eh?” Her face suddenly shifted. “Have you heard from Dinky recently?”

Twilight shook her head. “Spike burned her a letter two days ago, but she can't exactly reply. I know she got it, though, so I'm sure she's fine and on her way back.”

“I still can't believe she went on that journey herself,” she said. “Up in the snowy mountains? What were you thinking, anyway?”

“It was her idea,” Twilight protested. “I suggested the Appleoosan desert for her training.”

“This 'going away and studying' is dumb,” Derpy said.

Twilight shrugged from her position still on her back. “Yeah, maybe, but when you're at her level, you need room to practice. When she comes back with mage-level magic, you might change your mind.”

“Still my daughter, still worry,” Derpy muttered, before turning back to Twilight. “Early sleep tonight?”

Twilight nodded. “Pegasi training tomorrow, remember? I still have some things to finish before, and I'm beat.”

“Well, I'll leave you alone then,” Derpy said. She leaned in, before pulling back in shock.

“What?” Twilight asked, surprised.

“I...” Derpy stammered, blushing furiously. “I was about to give you a good-night kiss.”

Twilight laughed, a full, happy laugh. “I promise, as soon as I know she's back, I'll tell you. Good night.” (4)

"Good night, Twilight Sparkle."

10 Days until T-Day

10 Days until T-Day
7:50 am
Ponyville Library, Twilight's room

Derpy poked her head out from the cloud and let out a large yawn. She hopped up and stretched her wings, then looked towards Twilight.

“Ready for....”

But her voice trailed off as she noticed the bed was empty. She cocked her head in confusion, wondering why Twilight had had to get up so early.

Trotting down the stairs, she found Spike blearily eating breakfast. He dropped the food off his spoon more often than not—he must have been really tired.

“Have you seen Twilight?” Derpy asked, sliding over a bowl for herself.

Spike nodded. “She left like an hour ago.”

“Oh... I didn't even wake up.”

“You're a heavy sleeper,” Spike grumbled. “Maybe I need to get me one of those clouds.”

Derpy cocked her head. “Was Twilight being loud?”

“She was testing joint teleportation for distance and accuracy. Sometimes it didn't work.”

“Meaning?”

Spike pointed to the wall, where Derpy noticed, for the first time, that there was a book embedded in the wall. Not like it had been thrown there; as if it had appeared there from inside.

“Oh,” Derpy said, nodding her head in understanding.

“Yeah.” Abandoning his cereal, Spike took a bite of his ruby. “Fully splinched. She wasn't very happy about that one. But it's not like she can practice outside. She's gotta stay hidden and she couldn't hold all three spells at the same time.”

Derpy nodded. “Do you think she'll be able do it?”

Spike grinned. “She's Twilight Sparkle. I think she'll manage.”

10 Days until T-Day
11:00 am sharp
Ponyville Library, common room

Rainbow Dash hovered in front of the gathered pegasi. She wore the thick, protective woolen clothing that Rarity and Twilight had designed, and had just finished making earlier that morning. Not that the garment needed adjusting, mind you—Rarity's design was perfect. Rarity had just decided that it needed a little extra spark, and so Rainbow Dash was proudly sporting a large, full-color, interwoven logo of her cutie mark on the back. It was hot, but the other option was wearing rubber and that chafes something AWFUL when flying. And if the wearer in question is a stallion... don't even go there. (1)

“All right, you sorry excuses for pegasi!” Rainbow Dash began, in a quite authoritative voice. She was enjoying herself immensely. “Today we begin fight flight training! Now, I know you can take dogfighting classes at Flight School as electives, but we're going to work on something a bit different this week. We're outnumbered, outmatched, and it looks like we're gonna lose; but with a little strategy, we will come out on top.” She pounded her hooves together on the last phrase to accentuate her point. She scanned the crowd, doing her best to look intimidating. “Those who feel like they're strong cloudpushers, line up on that wall. If you prefer flying fast, line up with that bookshelf. If you don't like doing either, or if you happen to enjoy playing with lightning, come up to the front.”

As the pegasi divided themselves, Rainbow Dash continued. “This is all subject to change, so be open and ready for anything.”

“What makes you so sure this is going to work?” somepony asked.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Because this is Twilight's plan, and if the egghead says it'll work, then it'll work. Now move it!”

“Nopony's seen her in days!” the pegasus protested. “Maybe she abandoned us, you ever think of that? She skipped town to save her own flank and abandoned us to a crazy psychopath!”

Rainbow Dash was ready to issue a complete and thorough dressing down, when suddenly the speaker's wings glowed purple and flared out, fully extended. Every pegasus there (and that meant every pegasus in town that wasn't too sick to show up) noticed—and every pegasus laughed.

Twilight's voice rang out through the laughter. “Maybe what you don't see is as important as what you do see.”

Rainbow had to wipe a tear from her eye. “What she said. Now move!”

10 Days until T-Day
11:35 am
Empty field close to Sweet Apple Acres

Rainbow Dash flew, wearing heavy weights to slow her down. Hey, you don't expect the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria to slow down or pass up a training opportunity, do you? She flew fast, up, down, through the clouds...

Suddenly, a lightning bolt hit her. The magic embedded in her woolen suit protected her from the burn and any injury, but the force did knock her back in a rolling fall. She recovered quickly and met the eyes of the pegasus who had shocked her.

Derpy looked sheepish. “Sorry!” she said.

Twilight had been watching from atop a cloud, and was more than a little bit impressed. “Actually, that was right. You're supposed to shock the enemy.”

“Woo hoo!” Derpy celebrated by jumping again on her cloud—sending an accidental shock into the two pegasi propelling it. They didn't have protective suits on, and, mildly stunned, began to fall, but Twilight caught them with a quick burst of her magic. Already seeing a hundred ways this could go wrong, the unicorn cleared her throat. “Derpy,” she said. “How would you like to be promoted to the wind-tunnel squad instead?”

Derpy's face fell. “You just want to get rid of me,” she said sadly.

Twilight verbally backpedaled furiously. “No, no! It's not like that at all!”

“You're a bad liar, Twilight,” Derpy said dolefully. Then she perked up again. “Can I be ground troop instead?”

Twilight had a sudden vision of Derpy running into the town water tower—and knocking it over right on the advancing army. “Actually, that might be a good idea.”

Derpy skipped off happily... until she skipped off the cloud she had forgotten she was on, and began falling flank over teakettle towards the earth. She quickly beat her wings to regain control, smiled sheepishly, and headed back down to the ground.

“That pegasus....” Twilight said, confusion written all over her face.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, she's something else.” She turned back to the others. “Well, you see how it works. Get movin'!”

Twilight watched as the pegasi began putting her plan into action. It looked fairly impressive. As she did some quick calculations, she noticed something.

Where was Fluttershy?

10 Days until T-Day
1:35 pm
Everfree Forest

Still invisible, Twilight wandered through the forest. She had had to take many long ways around, because Trixie had set up wards that would trip when strong magic passed through, almost like she was fishing for Twilight. Trixie had certainly gotten stronger, but the wards themselves were not too complex and suffered from poor wording, especially on defining the end ranges, and so Twilight was easily able to avoid them.

A sudden worry occurred to her. What if something had happened to Fluttershy? Or Zecora? What if Trixie had captured them? What if Trixie had imprisoned them? Were those the same thing? Why didn't she think of this sooner? She froze, split with indecision on which of her friends to visit first. Fortunately, her path had led her closer to the zebra's hut than Fluttershy's cottage, and the decision was easily made.

10 Days until T-Day
1:42 pm
Zecora's house

As Twilight approached, she noticed something was different about Zecora's house. The most noticeable change was the new appearance of Trixie's cutie mark, burned into the wooden door.

Inside her hut, Zecora looked up at the sound of tapping. She relaxed slightly, as this set of taps were more friendly-sounding than the first set. “A visitor! Who could it be?” Zecora opened the door, smiling, and saw... nothing. She cocked her head in confusion. “Is my visitor one Miss Nopony?”

Scampering hooves soon changed her mind, and she shut the door behind her. “Twilight Sparkle! A surprise for sure. Your mixture is not quite yet pure. I had thought I still had two days yet to brew them how you wanted it?”

“Thanks, Zecora,” came Twilight's disembodied voice, “but I'm actually here to see how you're doing.”

Zecora shrugged. “My health is good, my teeth are strong, my mane and tail grow straight and long.”

She heard the sound of a hoof hitting a forehead. “I meant, has Trixie found you yet? I was afraid she'd taken you and captured you or something and forced you to brew her some evil poisons or something.”

Zecora laughed. “Fear not, Twilight, I am safe and sound. Though her scouts did come around.”

“What?”

Zecora pulled a small kettle off the fire and poured out two cups of the hot drink inside, seemingly oblivious to Twilight's worries. “Yes, they came earlier today; but do not worry, I chased them away.”

Twilight began to fret. “You're not hurt, are you? How did you do it?”

Lifting up her cup, Zecora bit her lower lip as she reflected on what had happened.

The group of four ponies surrounded the zebra. Their leader, a dark-eyed pegasus mare, began the interrogation.“So, you're a zebra.”
“I surely was last time I checked, and I don't think that has changed just yet.”
“So what can you do? Brew potions? What is this grass and mud in this pot?”
Zecora's expression became offended. “That's my soup. You are quite rude. Do I show up and diss your food?”
“t's prolly better than the swill we're served,” one pony muttered, earning himself a sharp smack from his companion.
“What could you possibly offer us to leave you alone?” their leader continued.
Zecora smiled. “My services, for as you see, I am what is known as, a call pony.”
“A call pony?”
Her question was answered when Zecora stood, and walked really close, destroying all concept of personal space. Running a hoof up along her wing, Zecora brought her mouth close to her ear and whispered, “Upon my cutie mark I bet, I can give you a night you will not forget.”
The leader literally flew out of Zecora's house, with the other three soon following, but not before issuing a few more threats and leaving Trixie's insignia burned in the door. It was all hollow threats, though. Zecora had seen plenty of those in her lifetime, and knew the signs. They would not be visiting her again any time soon.

Zecora shrugged and hid a slight blush as she took a sip. “Such trivial things don't matter much. I simply used my zebra's touch.”

She heard the sound of Twilight's sigh of relief, and then watched her cup disappear as Twilight took it in her magic. “Thanks, Zecora, that helps a lot. I'm going to see Fluttershy. I don't think she could handle one scout, let alone four!”

Zecora let out a slight giggle behind her own cup. “If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that you could give your fears a rest.”

“What? Why?”

Zecora turned and pointed to a smaller, covered pot simmering over a smaller fire, off to the side of the large one. Twilight had not seen it when she walked in. “I was certain that they would be back, so I decided to go on the attack. It is a paste, thick, green, and goopy, that looks like sick but not as droopy.”

Twilight really didn't need that image in her head.

“I spread it around Fluttershy's cottage with care.” Zecora couldn't suppress a smile as she finished her thought, “For it just so happens to attract bears.”

Ah. Fluttershy couldn't take on one pony, but she could easily handle a bear, assuming that the bear wasn't already her friend. She was funny that way. And Twilight would have bet three books that no scout would return anywhere near the possible home of a bear.

“I think I'll go see her anyway.”

“She is your friend, I think that's fine. Come back and see me some other time!”

10 Days until T-Day
2:30 pm
Fluttershy's cottage

Fluttershy sat on her couch and pushed over a cup of tea to the green pegasus, who still had not shared her name. She picked it up and took a small sip. Her eyes lightened. “I think this is my favorite,” she said. “It's nice and minty.”

Fluttershy smiled over her own cup. “It's one of my favorites, too,” she said, taking another sip. “The poison lemongrass adds such a nice flavor.”

The green mare spewed her drink out and clambered back over the sofa, her clipped wings flapping furiously (but ineffectually) in a desperate attempt to escape.

“Wait! No!” Fluttershy said, holding her hooves up. “It's just a name, see? I'm drinking it too!”

The mare stopped flapping, but her wings remained extended, and her breathing did not slow.

“It only affects unicorns. We're fine, I promise.”

The other pegasus didn't seem convinced, but Fluttershy remained gentle. She took the other mare's cup and took a sip. “See? Perfectly safe.”

The other pegasus slowly returned to the sofa. Fluttershy had no idea what she had gone through, but whatever it was, it must have been unimaginably rough. It had taken her forever to get the pegasus to leave her room, and trying new food had been the next hurdle. She smiled disarmingly. “I promise, not everypony else is out to get you.” She paused. “Though sometimes it feels that way...”

This conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Instantly, both pegasi fled back to the comfort of the bedroom, diving under the bed and shivering in tandem.

Suddenly, it occurred to Fluttershy that she couldn't convince the other pegasus to be brave if she herself was not brave. Steeling herself, she pulled herself out from under the bed and bravely answered the door.

To her surprise, the doorway was empty. She looked around, wondering if it were an animal or perhaps a pony pulling a prank—until the door shut on its own. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise.

“Fluttershy. Don't faint.” (3)

Fluttershy bit her lip and remained standing.

Twilight Sparkle materialized from the air and smiled. “Hey, Fluttershy!”

“Oh, hi,” Fluttershy said, hoping she didn't sound suspicious.

If she did, Twilight didn't notice. “You weren't at pegasi training today, and I was just coming by to see how you were doing.” Her eyes widened. “There isn't a spy hiding here, is there? You haven't been captured and tortured for information, have you?”

“Oh, no!” Fluttershy said. “I just... I... Um... I just didn't come because...” Her eyes darted around the room nervously, before she looked up again. “Would you believe the feather flu?”

Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully. “No, because you used that excuse last time.”

“How about the pony pox?”

“No, and that's even accounting for how often you volunteer at the clinic.”

“Would you believe poison joke?”

Twilight blinked. “No, Fluttershy. No, I would not.”

Fluttershy was starting to sweat now. “Would you believe that I was just afraid of being surrounded by a lot of ponies again?”

Twilight paused. “Actually, that one I would believe.”

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief.

“But I thought you had gotten over that?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy hid her face. “It's... a work in progress,” she stammered.

Twilight sighed, relieved. “Oh, that's good. Because, I'll be honest here, for a second there I thought you had found a member of Trixie's army and were hiding her here under your bed or something.”

Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she was sweating bullets now. “Oh, of course not! I mean... that would be rather silly, wouldn't it?”

If Twilight noticed her nervousness, she didn't comment. “Yeah. Guess I'm just a little nervous for this, even though I have prepared...” She paused and pulled out her checklist. She glanced at it before biting her lip. “Have you been helping Zecora?” she asked.

Fluttershy shook her head, grateful that she wasn't in the spotlight anymore. “No. She wouldn't tell me anything else besides she needed lemongrass. Which is harmless, except to unicorns.”

Had Twilight not been otherwise occupied with her checklist, she would have become slightly suspicious. But, being unable to see the forest for the trees (4), she didn't. Instead, she rolled up her checklist and nodded. “All right. Then I'm heading back to work with Rarity on something else that I can't tell you about on the off chance that Trixie has discovered and learned how to use the mind-reading spell.”

“There's a mind-reading spell?” Fluttershy asked, worried. (5) What if her friends could see the thoughts running through her head?

“Yeah, but it's really painful for the pony on the receiving end. It's been banned for a couple hundred years, but it's still around. It's really bad. A few ponies have gone insane because their mind got looked into for too long.”

Fluttershy stared in horror.

“Well, that's all for me. Good bye, Fluttershy. I'll come by and see you soon, as soon as I figure out a good place to put you in my schedule. I already had to cut pegasi training supervision short and move back helping with Rarity just to see you today.”

Fluttershy hesitantly waved good bye as Twilight disappeared and then left, in that order. Turning around, she took a steadying breath. So what if there were scary things out there? She had to be strong for her nameless friend! So what if there were big, mean, scary ponies who could hurt you and make you go insane and leave your animal friends all alone?

Two seconds later, she was beside her bed, lifting up the bedsheets. “Scoot over, please,” she said, before scrambling under and quivering next to the green pegasus.

10 Days until T-Day
7:30 pm
Carousel Boutique

Twilight worked slowly now, more than a little bit exhausted. The part of the plan that involved Rarity and Project Pinkie was a great idea... but took more magic than she had previously planned for. Rarity had worked nonstop for most of that afternoon on her own projects—generosity doesn't pay the bills, darling—and Twilight had worked right alongside her. Together, they had made a good team.

Well, that is, until the Cutie-Mark Crusaders had decided to burst in, make a general mess, and attempt to earn cutie marks in pet grooming. Their subject, Opalescence, had said no.

Repeatedly.

With her claws.

On an unrelated side note, they had also discovered that they weren't the Cutie-Mark Crusaders Nurses. And Rarity was also now out of gauze.

Twilight had just finished putting the finishing touches on yet another patch when there was a knock on the door.

She vanished instantly, and Rarity opened the door. To her horror, there stood Lyra and Bon Bon.

“So... fitting time?” Lyra asked.

“Well, I... you see... I...”

“But you promised,” Lyra said, putting on her puppy-dog eyes.

If there is one adjective that describes Lyra, it is “emotional”. When she's happy, she's happy. When she's sad, she's devastated. When she's angry, she's furious. And when she wants something...

Rarity's resolve broke down like a snowball in summer. “I did, didn't I... Very well, come in. And shut the blinds, please.”

10 Days until T-Day
8:10 pm
Carousel Boutique

Two very happy ponies left Carousel Boutique, their saddlebags bulging with various items of personal clothing.

Rarity exhaled. All things considered, it had gone well, but there was the issue of Twilight. As if she knew she was being thought of, the purple unicorn materialized on top of one of Rarity's bookshelves, high up and out of the way.

Rarity looked up, and a feeling of dread crawled through her as she realized that Twilight was looking thoughtful, apprehensive, and excited all at the same time.

“Rarity?” she asked. “I... I think I... you know... for purely scientific reasons, of course... might possibly kindof want one of those outfits, too.”

Rarity had the sinking feeling that she had started something that would balloon into something larger and come back to bite her in the flank. This was coupled with the feeling of pride, that shy Twilight (who had remained stubbornly single throughout the years) was finally coming out of her shell.

So, of course, there was no possible way that this could end well.

Now completely conflicted, she settled for smiling and levitating a quill. “Whatever you like, dearie,” she said.

Author's Note

1) Some lines are painful to write. This was one of them.
2) I just downloaded SFM, so I briefly considered inserting a TF2 joke here, even though I don't actually play.
3) Original line: “Fluttershy? I forbid you to faint.”
4) haha that's funny because fluttertree reference
5) Mildly relevant image

9 Days until T-Day

9 Days until T-Day
8:00 am
Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle's bedroom

Twilight awoke and stretched widely. As she expected, she had a bit of a headache at the base of her horn from using so much magic yesterday. She smiled as she remembered the first time she had had that problem. She had run crying to Celestia, thinking that she had ruined her horn forever. Celestia had calmly comforted her and given her a special herbal mixture that calmed the headache, and Twilight had memorized the recipe that night. She wouldn't be able to use much magic today, which was something she had written into her schedule for today.

Her stomach grumbled, and she paused. Perhaps it was Derpy rubbing off on her, but for some reason, she felt like eating a muffin. Preferably blueberry.

To her surprise, when she went downstairs, she found Derpy making waffles. This was a quite acceptable substitute.

“Pleeease can we keep her?” Spike pleaded around a mouthful of waffle. “These are better than mine.”

Twilight laughed lightly. “She has her own home and family,” she protested as she walked over to the cupboards to grab a plate for herself. “I don't think they'd like having her disappear like that.”

Derpy paused. “Speaking of family... do you think Dinky will be back soon?”

Twilight nodded, before realizing that her head wasn't visible. She pulled back to meet Derpy's eyes. “I do. I wouldn't be surprised if she was working on her quickrun and was coming home today. Until then, we wait.” She lifted her fork and took a bite of the waffle, whereupon her eyes widened and she pulled out her checklist and a quill. “Obtain... waffle recipe... from Derpy...” she muttered.

Spike looked over at Derpy. “She does know you're standing right here, right?” he asked around a mouthful of waffle.

Derpy shrugged. “Some ponies do silly things, Spike. That's just the way life goes.”

9 Days until T-Day
8:32 am
Somewhere within the Great Desert

It's impossible to quickrun down a mountain (well, technically it is possible, but there is the ever-constant threat of splattering oneself across a rock, which makes it a rarely practiced technique). It is quite another matter to quickrun across a desert. It had been a complicated spell, but once Dinky learned it, she could cast it at any time. It was, however, a draining spell, and Dinky found herself obligated to stop and rest and recharge every so often. This was the part she had trouble with.

Dinky attempted to slow to a stop, but only managed to trip and fall flat on her face and slide a few body lengths along the sandy waste of the desert.

“Great,” she muttered, spitting out sand as she pushed herself to her hooves. “And my flawless record still stands.”

She looked around, and, to her surprise, had ended up right where she wanted to be: a little oasis in the middle of nowhere, with a little pond and a few trees. She trotted up, looking around to make sure that there was nopony else around. (1). Seeing that it was, she trotted up, filled her canteen, and lit her horn. Magic flowed, targeting the water and destroying any impurities, leaving behind nothing but pure, delicious...

“Ech!” Dinky spat.

...hot water. Another spell quickly fixed that, though. When she had drunk her fill, she repeated the process and pulled out her map. Fixing her gaze on another spot, she turned and focused. She should be home in no time.

9 Days until T-Day
9:00 am
Ponyville Library

Derpy looked out the window and sighed. “I can't help but think about Dinky,” she said. “I bet she's crawling through the desert, tired and thirsty as we speak!”

Twilight didn't even glance up from her book. “She'll be fine, Derpy. It wouldn't surprise me if she's perfectly fine and home within the hour.”

9 Days until T-Day
9:23 am
Trixie's Airship

Trixie paced agitatedly around her captain's chair. Something was wrong. Really.

She turned to Sky Charmer. “Don't you hate it when there's something that seems like it's going right, but what's right is probably wrong?”

Sky Charmer gave her a flat glare. Even if she hadn't had the ball gag in her mouth, she wouldn't have deigned to reply.

“No, this simply is too right... and I'm not talking about the way you're filling out that saddle, either. Mm-mmm.”

That got a tiny rise out of Sky Charmer. Her left eye twitched, but she remained still. Trixie smiled, but it quickly faded as she continued pacing.

It made no sense that That Purple Pony would abandon Ponyville. It really didn't. Her friends were there—bleh—and she seemed to care about them a lot.

So why did she leave? Unless... unless she didn't leave. And she was there the whole time. Or maybe she left, but was planning on returning!

“Ha! I've got it!”

Sky Charmer rolled her eyes, which probably meant something like, 'Got what? The pony pox?'

Trixie interpreted it as 'oh, please enlighten me, my most glorious mistress', and sprinted over, taking Sky Charmer's face in her hooves. “I'm certain that That Purple Pony is hiding, waiting to spring a trap on me!” She pulled Sky Charmer in conspiratorially, as if sharing a secret. “But I'm going to spring a trap on her, first! Ah, the cleverness of the Great and Dreadful Trixie!” Without warning, she kissed Sky Charmer right between the eyes and turned and sprinted out of the room.

To Sky Charmer's disgust, Trixie was a very sloppy kisser, and since her hooves were still chained to the floor, she could only stand there helplessly as Trixie's slobber dribbled down her face and down to her nose, and she was unable to get it off.

Sky Charmer wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up.

9 Days until T-Day
11:47 am
Somewhere within the Great Desert

Dinky sighed in relief as she finally saw what looked like civilization. That desert had been larger than she remembered it being, and she stumbled into camp, not even minding as she once again tripped and slid along her face. The tents looked like fairly good shelter from the sand, and the cutie mark-less ponies, most fully-grown, all of whom wore loose clothing and seemed larger and leggier than the ones she was used to seeing, all seemed quite friendly. Or maybe that was confusion on their faces.

Wait.

These weren't Equestrian ponies. These weren't Equestrian ponies at all.

Dinky shot to her hooves, and quickly realized that she was shorter than the rest of these ponies, all of whom looked thinner and hardened by the hard desert life. None bore cutie marks. They looked like they knew their way around a fight, but they didn't look like they were pulling out weapons.

One pony, who was apparently the leader if the extra fancy clothing he wore was anything to judge by, came near and spoke in a thickly accented voice. “Are you the Great Mage we have been waiting for?”

Dinky licked her lips, and decided it was safest if she answered truthfully. “If I am, I didn't know about it.”

“But you fit the prophecy!” he proclaimed. “You are a pony with strange proportions...”

Dinky looked down at her body briefly, pausing as she reached her stomach and then her hindquarters. Sure, colts weren't lining up to ask her out, and she certainly wasn't going to be asked to model for national magazines anytime soon, but she didn't think she looked that bad.

“...and a strange protrusion on your head!”

Dinky looked up and frowned. She was rather fond of her horn, and wasn't sure she liked that description of it.

If he noticed her discomfort, he didn't comment. “You came from the east!”

“Yeah, I guess I- Wait. East?” Horseapples, Dinky thought, quickly rearranging her position in her head and coming to a sudden realization. I ran the wrong way. Guess I really am my mother's daughter...

“You have come through the great desert!”

“It's not that great,” Dinky contradicted. “Too much sand in the wrong places.” She shook her hindquarters irritably.

“And you are marked by diamonds!”

Dinky looked down at her chest, and saw no necklace or any jewelry of any sort. Then she realized he referred to her cutie mark, which she turned to display. “Oh, yeah. That refers to magic, which is part of my special talent involving...”

“You must be the one!”

Dinky looked around. Foals peeked out from behind their mothers' legs, their eyes shining brightly with hope. She swallowed nervously. “And what exactly does 'the one' do?”

“You will help us break the rock!”

Dinky blinked. “The who does what now?”

9 Days until T-Day
11:58 am
Near a large rock somewhere in the desert

“This is the rock of promise!”

Dinky blinked. It looked like a normal rock to her. It didn't make much sense that there was such a large rock in the desert, but it also didn't make sense that she was hanging out with a bunch of ponies of a different race that had never seen a unicorn before, either, so this was probably par for the course.

“For years, this rock has held an enormous treasure!”

Dinky walked up and tapped it with a hoof. “Looks like a normal rock to me.”

“When the rock is broken, the treasure will be revealed! And you, of the prophecy, are the one to do it!”

“Who, me?”

“Yes, you!” (2) He leaned in close, and Dinky suppressed a wave of nausea at the smell of his breath. “Unless you are a fake, and deserve to be tied up and left in the sun?”

Of the many things Dinky wanted at the moment, that was not one of them. Quickly, she thought back to when she was a young filly. Some ponies thought that her mother's crossed eyes meant she couldn't read, but she could (3), and enjoyed reading Dinky her bedtime story almost as much as Dinky loved hearing it. And boy, did she read. She put emotion into it and gave every character a different voice. She thought back, and tried to channel some of the greater villains her mother had created for her.

She turned and snarled in the darkest tone she could muster, “Did I ask for your opinion?”

The leader was taken aback and began to bluster, “But... you...”

Dinky took a threatening step forward. “I merely put up with your imbecilic rambling to see if you really knew who I was and the extent of my power.” She lit her horn threateningly, flaring a light purple glow. “Now, though, my patience with your idiocy grows thin.”

“I... I... but you said...”

“Do not pretend to know the ways of magicians, you ground-pounding fool!” she roared, sparks flying from her horn in her 'rage'. “I have been training, immersed in the magical arts since I was a newborn foal!” She took another step forward, and he took two back. “You will give me time to work my magic.” With her magic, she lifted a piece of his long mane and played with it gently, and a smile crossed her face that was as dark and twisted (she hoped) as the one that had crossed Tirek's face in the stories of her youth. “Or maybe you would rather I break you?”

He whinnied like a little schoolfilly and scampered, and the other villagers quickly followed suit, leaving Dinky alone with the rock. With a self-satisfied sniff, Dinky turned back to the rock.

Now what?

Obviously, she could bluff her way out of this until she was rested and just quickrun out of here. Not a problem.

Of course, on second thought...

A slow smile spread across her face. Didn't Twilight say she should take on new challenges? Find new ways of doing things? Wasn't the opportunity for personal growth the whole purpose of her leaving her home in the first place?

She sat down and met the rock's imaginary gaze. She lit her horn and began scanning.

“Challenge accepted, you ugly piece of rock.”

9 Days until T-Day
1:39 pm
Near a large rock somewhere in the desert

Dinky took another drink of her canteen and finished it. She grateful that she had refilled both fairly recently, and had another full one to spare, because at this rate of thinking, it was going to take a while. And even underneath the canopy she had erected, it was pretty warm out.

She had learned that it was protected. She felt the magic in it. However, this was a much older magic than she was used to, and really had no idea where to start.

As she pondered, she thought she heard the sound of foals whispering. She closed her eyes and sent out a tiny magic pulse, designed for sensing life. Sure enough, it pinged back four small energy readings, likely foals.

She waited with eyes closed. Sure enough, she heard the telltale sounds of young ponies trying to be sneaky, and failing horrifically.

Sure enough, one was pushed to the front of the group, and poked her head around the tent to look at Dinky. She squeaked in fright as she was lifted by her tail by an invisible mouth and began flailing wildly in a desperate attempt to escape.

“What have we here?” Dinky asked, trying to suppress a laugh.

“Oh Great Mage, please don't eat me!” the filly pleaded, tears starting to form in her eyes.

Dinky laughed as she set the intruder down. “I don't eat ponies,” she said. “I like daisies better.”

The filly paused, fear and curiosity battling in her mind. Curiosity won. “What are daisies?”

“They're flowers,” Dinky said, slightly surprised that she should have to explain this.

“What are flowers?”

Knowing that that would be hard to explain, Dinky went with a much safer and not entirely untrue answer. “Wizard food, from a land far across the desert.”

The filly nodded in comprehension.

Dinky set her down. “So what are you doing out here?” she asked.

“I wanted to see a real live wizard!” she said. “They said you were the Chosen One and could open the rock of a thousand years!”

A thousand years, eh? How original, Dinky observed drily. “Do you know what's behind the rock?” she asked. She had no idea, and any rumor might be helpful.

“No, what?” the filly asked.

Dinky laughed. “Guess.”

The filly's eyes sparkled. “I don't know, but they say it's something that will solve all our problems!”

Dinky found it ironic that she should have to solve a problem so that their problems could be solved by something else, but merely nodded. “That sounds great. I really hope it's a chocolate cake or something.”

“What's cake?”

“Super wizard food.”

“Ah.”

9 Days until T-Day
1:45 pm
Ponyville Library

Every pony has their own method of dealing with stress. Some ponies eat. Some ponies clean. Some ponies go for a run.

Derpy bakes. And boy, does she bake.

“Twilight?” she called up from the kitchen. “I think you're out of flour. Again.”

“Not so loud!” Twilight hissed from her position behind the couch. “The big bag of flour is in the pantry behind the noodles.”

Derpy grinned sheepishly. “That's the one I used.”

“What? Derpy! That was a fifty pound bag!” Twilight scolded.

“I can't help it! I bake when I'm nervous!”

Spike looked up from his muffin on the table. “No complaints here,” he said. “Hey, Twilight. Have you tried her brownies?” He held one up invitingly.

“It looks like a muffin,” Twilight noted drily.

“Well, yeah. She baked them in the muffin tin so they'd cook faster. Are you absolutely positively sure we can't keep her?”

Twilight buried her face in her book. Of course, being behind the couch and not visible to them anyway, it was only for her benefit, but still. “For the last time, Spike, she's a grown mare with grown daughters of her own. No, we can't keep her.”

“I'm just worried,” Derpy muttered. Her mind wandered, continually picking up darker and darker scenarios. “What if she got taken captive by a bunch of wild, nomadic desert savages? What if they're surrounding her and they're getting ready to cook her right now? They'll make Dinky sandwiches for everypony!”

9 Days until T-Day
2:40 pm
Somewhere in the desert

“So then he says... -snrk!- He says, 'Well, yeah. How do you think I got the horseshoes?'.”

The foals burst out laughing. Dinky couldn't help but smile. All her mother's lame jokes really came in handy around ponies that had never heard them before. She took another drink from her canteen, and was mildly disappointed when she discovered that it was now empty.

“Do any of you know where I can get more water?”

The fillies shook their heads. “Nuh uh," one answered. "Water's sacred out here. If we find some, we save it.”

Something occurred to Dinky. No magic is circular; it is more of a line. After all, it had to be cast in the first place, which means it has a beginning and therefore an end. There will always be a way to unravel it, much like a single wayward thread could unravel a loose-knit sweater. The mark of a great magician was hiding that thread so well that it was nearly impossible to find. This rock was hiding such an impossible to find thread. Water was impossible to find, too. Coincidence?

Dinky stood up and stepped out into the sun, closing her eyes and letting it beat down on her face. Instantly, she felt the sweat begin to form on her forehead and trickle down around her horn.

Perfect.

One filly took a hesitant step forward. “Are you ok?” she asked.

Her friend pulled her backwards. “Hey, don't interrupt magic things!” she hissed. “You could get turned into sand!”

Lyra couldn't suppress a chuckle. “No, no sand. Maybe a spider, though.”

“What's a spider?”

“A tiny yet fearsome beast with eight legs and eight eyes, and it loves to crawl into foals' ears at night and nibble on their brains.”

Every foal there quickly took a tiny step back.

Fusing the water with her magic, she lifted her sweat, and then whipped it like a blade, slashing the rock. She was excited to see that there was a gash in the rock. It was small, to be sure, but it was there.

Every foal took a tiny step forward.

Grinning, Dinky lit her horn and slashed again.

9 Days Until T-Day
3:00 pm
Trixie's Airship

Trixie walked... nay, pranced back into the captain's chambers.

“Guess what Trixie did today?” she asked in a sing-song voice.

Sky Charmer looked away, disappointed that 'died in a fire' was not the correct answer.

“Well, not only did Trixie catch up on her beauty sleep and is looking better than ever...”

Sky Charmer snorted, and was suddenly thankful that the ball gag did not prevent this derisive action. Trixie, however chose to ignore it, and continued, “...but she also set up wards throughout the Everfree Forest! If That Purple Pony even comes within a pace of the lines, I will know.”

“Your Trixieness?” a guard spoke up. “What if another unicorn comes through?”

“The Great and Insightful yet Terrible Trixie already thought of that!” Trixie proudly proclaimed. “The wards are only set to alert me when a unicorn of my caliber crosses them.”

This made sense, but also prompted another question. “How did you get out without setting them off?” he asked.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Pegasi...” she said disparagingly. “Not understanding even the simplest of magics.” She leaned over and rested her head on Sky Charmer's shoulder. “Us unicorns have to stick together, don't we?”

Sky Charmer wished she could speak at that moment for no other reason than to correct her grammar. If she didn't know better, she'd think Trixie was doing it on purpose, just to annoy her further.

“Today, Trixie also achieved something most ponies thought impossible!”

Sky Charmer was moderately disappointed that the accomplishment wasn't Trixie staying silent for longer than thirty minutes, because that was something she certainly thought was impossible.

“Behold! The Great and Terrible Trixie presents... an apple!” She held out the red fruit proudly, as if awaiting thunderous applause.

Instead, she got a very confused guard. “An apple?”

“Yes! An apple stolen from Sweet Apple Acres! Home of the greatest apples in Equestria! Were Trixie an apple, she would be an apple from Sweet Apple Acres!”

Were Trixie an apple, she would probably give the eater massive indigestion. And likely the runs as well.

“Here, Sky Charmer. Smell the apple.”

This was, without a doubt, the weirdest, most ir-

Sky Charmer's walls of snark and sarcasm began to crumble. An apple... a sweet, sweet apple... So red, so round, so delicious... She felt her mouth begin to water, drool pooling inside on her tongue and dribbling out around the ball gag.

“And it's all mine!” Trixie took a big bite of the apple, sending juice everywhere. The sticky liquid landed on Sky Charmer's face, and she was once again unable to wipe it off.

“To think, that farm pony thought she could outsmart the Great and Dreadful Trixie!”

9 Days until T-Day
3:25 pm
Sweet Apple Acres Farmhouse, Kitchen

Entering from the orchard, Big Mac crossed through the kitchen for a drink, but paused when he saw his sister sitting at the table, staring at a piece of paper.

Applejack heard him walk in and smiled wryly. “Hey, Mac,” she said.

Big Mac cast an inquisitive look at the paper. He walked up behind her and read the note.

To Applejack:
By the time you get this, Trixie will have had the idea that she needs to prove herself better than the ponies she faced before. To accomplish this end, she will likely be stealing an apple or two from the south orchard, which is closest to the Everfree Forest. Please let her do this, and I will recompense you for whatever she takes.
Thanks in advance,

The signature at the bottom was scratched out, as if it had been written instinctively and then crossed out, but Big Mac recognized Twilight's writing instantly.

“Huh,” he said simply.

Applejack nodded. “Yep. When Ah got this, Ah thought, there's no way Trixie would dare show her face back on this farm, and so Ah wrote a note back, tellin' Twi that Ah had an apple pie what said differently.”

“She came,” Big Mac observed blandly.

“Yep. Not fifteen minutes after Spike brought this over, caught her runnin' through the south fields with an apple in her magic, cacklin' like it was Nightmare Night all over again.”

Big Mac nodded.

“So now Ah'm caught between eatin' crow and bakin' her the pie, or just never mentionin' it again.”

Big Mac knew his sister and her fierce honest streak, and was not surprised when he turned towards the kitchen counter and observed that the oven was lit, and a large bag of flour was sitting on the floor. He turned back to his sister with a grin on his face.

“Don't you say a word,” Applejack threatened.

Big Mac decided to take the safest course of action. “Ah'll peel the apples,” he said helpfully.

9 Days until T-Day
4:58 pm
Near a large rock somewhere in the desert

“Tartafyal! Tartafyal! Tartafyal!” The cheers of the desert ponies echoed across the sand.

Dinky rode high on the cheers. She had no idea what they were saying (if that's even what they were saying), but whatever it was, she felt exhilarated. She slashed again with her ethereal water sword, and the gash widened even further. The rock face now resembled one of the hot cross buns from Sugarcube Corner, and Dinky had no intentions of stopping.

A few more slashes, and a quiet crack came from the rock.

The assembly fell silent.

Dinky stepped forward to take a closer look. It seemed to be cracked enough. Maybe. She stepped closer, placed a hoof on each end of the fissure, and pushed.

The rock shattered, sending pieces flying everywhere... and sending Dinky falling down into a hole.

Dinky sat up and groaned, rubbing her flank painfully. Of course. Enchanted rock, illogical reaction. She should have expected that.

What she didn't expect was the humid air. Opening her eyes, she gasped.

Gems. Gems, jewels, gold, silver—this was a dragon's hoard. And judging by the river running through this underground cave, it had been a water dragon. Suddenly, the water-requiring rock made sense.

And judging by the large pile of bones jumbled over in the corner, the dragon was dead and not returning anytime soon.

Dinky ran back to the hole, where the ponies gathered around looking quizzically in. “Come in! It's safe!” she called.

A filly took her at her word and jumped in without a backwards glance. Dinky, who had been shielding her eyes with a hoof, didn't see her jump, and took the impact right on her back.

“Change of plans,” Dinky groaned from her new sprawled position on the ground. “Let me get a net or something.” Looking around, she noticed some silk bolts in a corner. This could work.

9 Days until T-Day
5:08 pm
Ponyville Library

Derpy paced impatiently. “I'm so worried!” she said.

She looked around, as if expecting somepony to offer comfort, but Twilight was silent and Spike was asleep.

Derpy frowned. “Oh, Dinky... please be alright.”

9 Days until T-Day
5:09 pm
Inside the water dragon's cave

“All hail Princess Dinky!” Dinky yelled, waving a golden scepter and wearing a large golden crown. She twirled the silk sheet she wore as a cape. “I am your deliverer and your princess now! Bring me young, virile stallions!”

Nopony listened to her (which was a good thing, as she had her eye on a colt back in Ponyville) as they were busy celebrating their discovery. Namely, the stream of water that flowed through the stone cave.

“We shall never go thirsty again!” cried the ponies. Foals danced in celebration, and even some of the adults danced, too. Some went so far as to cry tears of joy.

Dinky lowered her scepter. “You mean you've got all this treasure and you don't want it?”

A wise old mare looked at her with a confused expression on her face. “You can't eat it, you can't drink it, what use is it?”

Dinky was taken aback. “It... looks pretty?” she suggested.

The mare shrugged. “If it is important to high magician, she may take it.”

Dinky looked around at the huge pile of gold and laughed. Today was a good day.

9 Days until T-Day
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest
7:14 pm

Panting, Dinky slowed to a stop. The Everfree Forest had been an easy destination... Ponyville had not been. She closed her eyes, trying to get a bearing on her location.

Nothing.

Ah well. She had been lucky so far. She was probably close to Zecora's hut.

Had she been paying attention, she might have sensed the ward in front of her. But she was not, and she didn't.

Magic feedback reverberated painfully through her body, and Dinky collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

9 Days until T-Day
Trixie's Airship, Captain's Room
7:25 pm

“Here she is, oh Great and Dreadful One.”

Dinky raised her eyes and her vision began to focus. She blushed as she saw a unicorn, chained to the ground and wearing a tight saddle with various straps that left a little too little to the imagination, but her attention was instantly grabbed by a blue unicorn with a periwinkle mane that spun around in the captain's chair, her eyes glaring daggers at the younger unicorn.

“You!” she said... before pausing and taking a step back. “You are not That Purple Pony.”

“I... take it that's a good thing?” Dinky asked.

“But you set off my wards!”

“I know,” Dinky said, instinctively attempting to reach up and rub her horn, but the chains she wore prevented this. “I'm still feeling it.”

“What's in your bag?” she demanded.

“Baggish stuff,” Dinky sniped before she could stop herself.

The blue unicorn snorted. “Do not trifle with the Great and Dreadful Trixie.” She turned to one of the guards. “Open it.”

The guard did so, and when he turned it upside down, all the jewels and silks fell to the floor. Everypony present gasped.

Trixie's eyes narrowed. “Trixie will ask just one more time. Who are you?”

Dinky straightened up as best she could. “I am Dinky, daughter of Derpy, and I am the One prophesied of old! I split the rock of a thousand years and brought nourishment to an entire population!”

Trixie was taken aback. That was quite the accomplishment. “Really?” she gasped.

Dinky giggled. “Nope. I'm just really good with magic.”

Trixie lit her horn and grinned darkly. “Funny thing... So is Trixie.”

9 Days until T-Day
8:10 pm
Ponyville Library Commons

Spike wandered into the living room, where Derpy sat on her cloud, engrossed in a book. He turned towards the couch, where Twilight was busily taking notes on something that she found fascinating, but had nearly put him to sleep when she tried explaining it.

“You know, I didn't think you'd ever take a day off, Twilight,” he said. “Feels good, doesn't it? To do nothing all day? Send a couple notes and relax?”

“This is not a day off, Spike,” Twilight replied sharply, “and I didn't 'do nothing'. It is a recuperation day, as was tentatively scheduled in as a result of the large magic expected to be depleted on the previous day. There is still plenty to be done and plenty of research to do. Since the invisibility spell requires a steady flow of magic, I couldn't go outside; so today was a catch-up day for other projects.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “To-may-to, to-mah-to.”

Derpy threw the book she was reading off onto the couch. This disrespect for a book earned her a sharp glare from Twilight, but the pegasus wasn't paying attention.

“This still didn't answer my question!” she complained.

Twilight looked at the book and her eyes widened slightly. “'Astrophysics and You—a study'? What kind of question did you have?”

“When is Dinky going to get here?”

Ah. That made sense. But before Twilight could offer reassurance, she was interrupted.

“You know, what with the perfect timing we've had today and all,” Spike spoke up, “it wouldn't surprise me if there was a knock on the door in three... two... one...”

Silence reigned through the house.

Twilight giggled.

“Maybe... now!” Spike tried again.

Silence.

“Now!”

Still nothing.

“Whatever,” Spike said, turning to walk away. No sooner had he done so than a loud noise rang through the air. It sounded vaguely like a pony running face first into the door.

Twilight's first thought was, 'Rainbow, not again!' But Rainbow Dash usually crashed through a window, not the door.

But before she had a chance to process all this, Derpy came bursting in through the kitchen, bowling Spike over in the process, and ripped open the door.

“Dinky!”

Twilight looked up and sprinted over. To her surprise, there lay Dinky on the ground, mane a mess, legs askew, and looking very disoriented. To be perfectly honest, she looked quite a bit like her mother.

“Dinky, are you all right?” Derpy asked, pulling her up and into a tight hug. “Oh, I missed you so much!”

“'m fine,” Dinky said, holding a hoof to her head. “Quickrunning here was a bad idea.”

Derpy pulled her even tighter. “Please never leave me again!” she cried.

“Mom,” Dinky said flatly. “I'm fine. Seriously.”

“Whoa!” Spike interrupted. “What happened to your cutie mark?”

Derpy released her daughter, looked over, and gasped when she saw Dinky's flank. Emblazoned over her diamonds was a mark identical to the one on the paper left on City Hall's door: a blue swoosh with a star-tipped wand.

“What happened?” Derpy demanded.

All three jumped as the door slammed shut, and all three found themselves lifted through the air and carried into Twilight's bedroom.

9 Days until T-Day
8:35 pm
Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle's room

The door quickly slammed shut, and Twilight faded back into view. “This shouldn't be happening,” she said. “Nopony can change a cutie mark.”

“Oh, I think it's more of an intense magical overlay used more in illusionary magic than cutie mark altering,” Dinky said.

Twilight lit her horn and examined Dinky's flank, and found this to be true.

“Can you take it off?” Derpy asked.

Twilight shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again. “Yes, I can. But I won't, because I don't want Trixie to get suspicious. This is a strong illusion, and not many could break it.”

“So she's like testing to see if you're here?” Derpy asked.

“Kindof.”

Derpy pulled Dinky into another tight hug. “I'm so sorry,” she said, with barely concealed rage. “Did they do anything else to you?”

Dinky thought back.

Dinky collapsed to the ground, the pain in her flank fading to a dull burn.
Trixie gasped for breath as the light around her horn dimmed. “Ha,” she panted. “So much for you going against the Great and Dreadful Trixie. You two, get her out of my sight.”
The two ponies dragged her away, taking her through the ship and out the doors. Dinky barely registered that they were somewhere in the Everfree still.
As they left the airship itself, Dinky was mildly surprised to find herself dragged further into the forest and behind a tree.
“What are you doing?” one pony asked. “Trixie said dump her and leave.”
“Oh, no. I'm not leavin' without some of that flank.”
Dinky's eyes widened at those implications, and she began struggling against her bonds.
“Stop squirming. It'll be over soon.”
But what some ponies didn't realize was that magic suppressors must be physically placed, because if they are placed magically (as Dinky's had been), the magic is absorbed by the suppressor and the ring will not be pushed down far enough to reach the base of the horn, which is the required positioning for total inhibition of magic. This is why most suppressors used in the criminal justice system have mouthstraps to assist in proper placement (conversely, inhibitors used as bedroom playthings do not).
To their surprise, Dinky lit her horn, lifted off the ring and threw it against a tree. Holding both in place with her magic, she levitated a rock and grabbed the first one's tail, lifting it roughly.
The stallion quickly put two and two together and began struggling furiously.
“Oh, stop squirming,” Dinky purred. “It'll be over soon.”

“Nothing I couldn't handle myself,” Dinky said honestly.

“Ok,” Derpy said, pulling her back into a hug. “I'm just glad you're back.”

“Me too,” Dinky said. “Twilight, do you need any help with anything in the plans?”

“Oh, not right now.” Twilight's eyes narrowed slightly. “I think I'll have to do some personal rearranging of the revenge path, that's all.”

Author's Note

...since December I haven't updated this? Wow... Uh... yeah, I have no excuse.

1) Do you know how hard it was to avoid using the pun “to ensure the place was deserted”? Very, very hard. It was almost more than I could sand.

2) “Couldn't be.” “Then who?”

3) This one came from personal experience. I was born with double vision. When things are far away, I can usually deal with it. Up close, like when I'm reading, I can't. But somehow, I can “shut off” one eye and only look through one, giving me just one image to deal with. So Derpy is best pony, because she's like me.

Part of me thought it would be funny to put a scene where the filly is curious to know if Dinky has the same kind of parts that she does, kindof like The King and I when the girls wonder if this strange woman Anna has legs like them or not; but then I alt-tabbed over to another story I'm working on where Big Mac literally bashes a pony to death for pedophilia with his forehooves, and suddenly that idea didn't seem so funny anymore.