Dawn's new day.

Too warm. I try to kick the blankets off but struggle to move my limbs. I was trapped, four hooves wrapped tightly around me as I played the small spoon. I quickly realized what was happening and blushed. Lyra.

After finishing my explanation we were both so exhausted we decided to just share the bed last night.

"Lyra, wake up." I grumble while nudging her.

"T0o early, f-five more minutes." She mumble yawns then nuzzles into my mane.

"Come on Lyra it's too warm." This got her to pay more attention. I could feel her tense up then back away from me quickly. Sitting up and turning around I can see her cheeks turning red after realizing what she had been doing.

"Sorry Dawn I wasn't fully awake and..." She tapped her front hooves together nervously then suddenly sniffled. "I'm not ready to be a mommy yet." She started crying.

I couldn't help but bust up laughing even during our current predicament. She stops to look at me. "It's not funny! You better take care of our foal."

I laugh even harder and try to reply while catching my breath. "Lyra. What are you talking about?"

Her ears go flat, "Well we slept together Dawn, so won't that make us parents?"

"Lyra that's not what 'Sleeping together' means." I deadpan then give a short and very awkward explanation. It’s like she forgot it’s not even the right season.

She blushes profusely then says nothing further about our sleeping arrangement as we start the day.

Heading down to breakfast we find out that my grandparents had gone out for the day so there was only their nameless maid to watch us. Knowing this was the perfect time for escape we spent the rest of the morning subtly trying to open the outer doors and windows. Of course they hadn't forgot to activate the wards or put null rings on us both.

"What do we do now Dawn?" Lyra quietly asked after we had just finished checking the last exit.

"We will have to go tonight when I can use Shadow walking on both of us. I wish we could get out now but the daylight is too strong." I huffed quietly. The nameless maid had followed us around in silence just out of whisper range. She had to know what we were doing yet didn't stop us.

"Could you go now if you were alone?" Lyra asked somberly.

"Honestly, I could. But I won't leave you with those monsters." I placed a hoof on her withers and pulled her in for a hug. "We just have to wait till tonight."

"More tea Princess?" Feather Duster asked, She could tell her princess was upset even without her empathic abilities. Nightmare Night was The one holiday Celestia did not celebrate.

"No thank you Feather. Raven, has Shining Armor sent any further reports about those unusual magic bursts out west?" She shuffled her papers.

"He sent a short report, his investigation narrowed down the area to a small town we are looking into." Raven replied as Celestia sighed and moved from her desk to her tea table. "It seams it is primarily owned by a few lesser nobles."

"I see. Keep me informed of further developments and let everyone know I'll be taking the rest of the day off." Celestia then dismissed Feather and Raven from the room and got comfortable with an old book. Is reading really what we should be doing right now? The guards still haven't found your missing students.

"I am trying to relax and it pains me to admit there isn't anything I could do that my guards are not already doing to find them. Pluss you know how much I hate this holiday." Celestia spoke calmly to herself turning another page.

Bah, if you really hate it so much just abolish it. You know as well As I do that you could be doing so much more. The voice spat out as Celestia sighed.

"So what do you think?" Gilded Sunrise asked her griffin broker. She hated dealing with the creature but bits were bits. Moonrise and I can probably turn her to gold eventually. She happily thought to herself.

"Not a bad looking batch of products. I know of a few buyers who might be interested in such fine 'art'." The griffin hen replied in a sickeningly sweet voice. She set down the photos of the statues and looked back towards the mare. "And you say you will have more soon that are solid gold? Not all of our clients will like that better than the gilded ones considering what's inside."

"Oh yes, my herd recently found a new method so we can make them solid now without much extra effort. The benefit is that they are still alive and could be reverted after transport. If you get what I mean." The hen raised an eyebrow at that and rubbed her talons together at the idea of live products. It was almost impossible to get living product out of Equestria after the empire fell.

"Well Gilded It looks like you have a deal." The hen threw a sack of bits on the table. "I'll pick them all up from the usual spot including the new test product in a few days." Her voice then changed from sweet to gruff. "Just make sure you aren't late with delivery."

"Are we ever?" Gilded magicked up the bag of bits then left the room with a flick of her tail to rejoin her herd outside.

"We finally found him." Morning Dew excitedly told her herd as they got off the train late in the evening. Her horn was lit and searching for her son's magical signature. "He's in this town."

"Kind of run down don't you two think?" Forest Breeze noted while looking at the disrepair of the town.

"It really could use some love." Pear Butter cringed, her hoof having just fell through a rotting plank of the station's platform.

"Is it just me or are we being watched?" Forest asked quietly. Ponies glancing their way subtly while going about their routines.

"It is a bit creepy the way they keep glancing at us. Maybe they don't get many visitors?" Pear pressed closer towards Forest while Morning Dew continued her magical scan.

"This way you two." Morning lead the way down the street. They eventually came across a neighborhood of small mansions on a well lit street. The whole area was in much better condition than the rest of the town.

"This is giving me the creeps." Forest shuddered.

"Ah here's the happy young couple." Onyx Star boasted.

Lyra and I had just walked into the dining room for dinner. He and the rest of his herd were already seated and waiting after returning from their errands.

"I hope you two are hungry. We will all be heading back to Canterlot tomorrow." Moonrise smiled as she dished out some plates. Lyra and I shared a look as we sat down to eat.

"Now then how was..." Sunrise didn't get to finish her sentence before a loud boom came from the front door. "What the."

The others all got up from the table and rushed into the front room as another resounding boom rang out.

"One more aught to do it." A muffled voice I recognized rang out from the other side.

"Keep them both safe and out of way. Now!" Onyx Star lit his horn after ordering the maid. I refused to budge however and quickly took the Null ring off Lyra's horn using my hoof magic. She then lit her own horn and took mine off surprising everyone around us.

The chaos was compounded when the door burst from its hinges.

"Are you sure this is the house Dewy?" Pear Butter asked her new wife as they got to the door.

"Certain of it. I can feel Dawn inside along with my parents." She spat out the last word then yelled. "Wait." Just as Pear was about to knock.

"Why?" She shrunk back.

"You don't knock on an enemy's door sweetie." Forest said then lined herself up to buck the door. "Lend us a hoof."

I grabbed lyra and Jumped back around the corner. Spells from my grandparents fired towards outsied had quickly followed the door being bucked in. Lyra and I then watched as all my family members, including my parents who had just shown up, were yelling obscenities' at one another.

"Buck you for foalnapping our son." My Dam yelled, firing a spell towards her own mothers chest that was sadly blocked by a shield.

"Oh get over yourself sweetie. You always did lack discipline." Sunrise quickly retaliated with a beam, that missed when a hunk of wood was bucked at her head by Pear butter.

Forest Breeze quickly joined the pandemonium with lightening fired from her wings. "Don't you dare hurt my family!"

"Dawn." Lyra was shaking a bit behind me as we watched the fight. "Isn't that your parents?"

I nodded, a bit slack jawed. "Yeah but I have never seen them so aggressive before. I didn't even know my mom could do that with her wings." The lightning was deflected by Onyx Star's shield this time causing small fires to break out around the room.

The maid had quickly joined us around the corner, protect us with her wings flared out. "Young master, you two need to get to safety from the intruders."

"Those intruders are my parents not some random ponies." I explained. She nodded then began leading us away from the fight down side hallway.

"Considering your Grandparent's are indisposed I am now under your command as the next in your families' line and will keep you safe." She explained.

"Why only start helping us now?" Lyra asked with a frown as we followed the pegasus.

The maid flattened her ears, turning around. "This prevented me from assisting sooner." She Raised a hoof to her neck and showed the collar under her outfit. "But since I was ordered to keep you both safe." She trailed off with a hint of a smile.

Morning Dew was not holding back as she continued to vent her rage upon her parents even as her stamina diminished. She continued to fire spell after spell as her horn began to smoke. She and Forest had already managed to take down Evening flare and were working on the other three. Pear continued to provide limited support by bucking random items into the fray.

Soon The local guard along with Shining Armor was upon the scene, drawn in towards the loud noise and magic.

"What in Tartarus is going on here?" Shining watched as a beam passed through the front door of the mansion. He quickly set up a pink shield to surround the entire home.

"According to one of the local residents, the owners are under attack by three intruders. We don't know exactly who lives there or anything else." One of the guards reported.

Shining was about to give his orders when he heard the crash of a window breaking. Two foals followed by a pegasus in a maids uniform jumped out right before that particular room caught fire. He ran over to go check if they were ok and was shocked to find, "Dawn, Lyra?"

I ran over to Shining Armor when I spotted him almost running into his shield. We had just escaped the now burning mansion and it was stopping our escape. "Hey. Shining let us through."

"Dawn what's going on in there?" He was struggling to hold his shield up but let us pass as more spells hit it.

"Short version. My grandparents had foalnapped Lyra and I to use for an evil plot. My parents found us and they are pissed." I almost laughed once outside the barrier. "This is my new maid by the way. She's cool, though I still don't know her name." Said maid bowed.

"I don't have one." She looked downcast.

"Look we can worry about that later." Shining grit his teeth. "For now we need to stop that." He pointed his hoof towards the ongoing fight just as my Dam yelled out again.

"Where Is my baby?!?"

Celestia had just lowered her sun with the letter appeared. Grabbing it from the air in her magic she quickly read over the missive. Finally.

Moments later she was at Shining Armors side. "Where are they?" Her anger literally burned and caused her mane to smoke until she felt a small hoof upon her side and looked down. The hoof belonged to Balanced Dawn.

"Hey. It's going to be okay." I said in a soothing voice. Even with everything going on I knew I couldn't let the princess get too angry.

Celestia looked down at me with a mix of emotions then walked through the shield, shattering it as if it wasn't even there, after I removed my smoking hoof.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Lyra looked concerned.

I shook my hoof to cool it off. "Surprisingly no."