Rainbow Dash swooped around the Crystal Empire, flying over every single of this place, checking to see if there was even a small patch she had left unclouded was hard work. Especially when she had to constantly be on the watch for any of the Princesses. If even one of them decided that the sudden snow storm was worth investigating personally, she knew she'd have to dash outta there asap to avoid getting caught. Rainbow made another round over the alleyways checking inside and under the clouds for holes. By a chance glance downward, she caught a glimpse of Daybreak subtly moving through the alleys. He looked like he was with somepony, but from this high up, Rainbow couldn't tell who. Deciding that her work was done, Rainbow took a nose dive to meet up with him. Unfortunately, by the time the pony with Daybreak was in full view and recognizable, Rainbow couldn't stop flying to drop her jaw in surprise.

She came skidding to a halt next to the pair and immediately pointed a hoof at Trixie

"What is she doing here?! I thought you said we couldn't trust anypony?"

Daybreak didn't stop walking and motioned for Dash to follow them out

"Complications came up, and she had the info we needed...Too bad for us her condition for telling was, we bring her along"

Trixie shot a glare to Daybreak

"Geez, why don't you just say point blank you don't want Trixie with you"

"Well, to be honest Trixie, I'd have preferred if you had just gone back home, we can't afford any screw ups here"

Rainbow quickly flew in front of Trixie as they continued to move forward, attempting to reach exit the Empire's barrier and current blizzard

"Yeah, plus you aren't exactly trustworthy. All we got from Daybreak is that you had changed for the better, I gotta see this for myself before I start giving you the benefit of the doubt. The others may be ok with you now, but I'll be withholding my judgment until I see how you really are."

Truthfully, Dash was right, at least partially. Other than him, none of them had really gotten to know Trixie since she had returned to Ponyville. In fact, to his knowledge, Rarity was the only one who had even spoken to her and that was just for business as he understood it.

"Look Rainbow, we don't have time to bicker about who should and shouldn't come, she's here, so deal with it for now ok?"

Dash made to pout, then nodded her head, slowly. Trixie smiled but Daybreak shook his head

"I wouldn't get too happy yet Trixie, cause you and Rainbow are gonna have plenty of bonding time once we get to Canterlot"

Seeing that they both wore confused expressions, Daybreak elaborated

"Even if I get inside the library and get the book, I need you two to watch the outside in case anypony tries to come in after me."

They both began to protest but Daybreak shut them down and told them to deal with it. He motioned for them to continue on, so the followed while quietly bickering behind his back.

Walking through the snow storm Rainbow had created was certainly not enjoyable in anyway. Snow blew across the air in a relentless fashion, often clinging to Daybreak's fur and giving him the appearance of a white ball of fluff. It would have been humorous at any other time. But it seemed Daybreak was immune to humor at the moment. Even as Trixie occasionally made to try and talk with him, he often just redirected her conversation to Rainbow Dash. A feat which Dash did not fail to notice, and was frequently annoyed by it. Eventually they came to the exit of the magical barrier of the crystal heart, and exited through, out into the open prairie of the crystal fields. Daybreak looked back at the field, it had stayed visibly active since Sombra had returned, a fact that proved how desperate the crystal ponies were to keep out there former king.

Trixie and Rainbow shook off the snow from their coats and waited for directions from Daybreak. He stared back through the barrier, and gently placed his hand on it. He began to doubt he would ever be allowed back in after what he would soon do. Rainbow snapped him back to reality by chucking a small stone at the side of his head, not enough to hurt, but it was generally annoying. Daybreak turned and glared, Rainbow quickly pointed at Trixie, who then ignited her horn menacingly. Daybreak just rolled his eyes and Rainbow sighed

"Oh come on Daybreak, I'm just trying to lighten the mood..."

"Have you forgotten why we are doing this Rainbow Dash!?"

Daybreak snapped back

"This isn't like your adventures with Twilight and your friends before! This isn't like all our fun times we've had saving Equestria and solving the mysteries of the world! In everyponys eyes, we are gonna be the villains, we are the bad guys this time Rainbow, we are about to not only steal, what is probably the most guarded book in Equestria, but also, steal the crystal heart too! This isn't something we can ever turn back from once we start, and there is a good chance we will both be jailed at the very least, and that's if we succeed..."

Even as he was losing his temper at her, Rainbow didn't flinch, unlike Trixie, who upon hearing that they were going after the heart too, was utterly befuddled

"What would you need the Crystal Heart for Daybreak"

Rainbow Dash whipped around with a shocked look on her face

"You didn't tell her? But you let her come along?!"

Daybreak shrugged

"The less she knows, the less trouble she can get in. I doubt Celestia would have seen her actions criminal if they had been ignorant, but now it seems we have to tell her."

Trixie shook her head

"I don't really care either way, I already said I was coming along, so there is no point in me turning back now anyways, whatever you are doing, I think I've known you long enough to know it can't be that bad...even if it really does appear that way...Trixie only has one question for you though...Why wouldn't Twilight Sparkle be with you, I didn't think she'd be the kind to side with Celestia over you, and you said she wasn't coming."

Rainbow eyed Daybreak, a suspicious look on her face

"Daybreak...why?..."

"I don't wanna talk about it Rainbow, she doesn't need to know"

Trixie raised her eyebrows and Rainbow flared up

"NO! Daybreak that's just wrong, you, she at least deserves to know that much if she's gonna be part of this"

Daybreak turned away from Rainbow, he walked off toward some nearby crystals and began recreating the image for their portal to Canterlot. Rainbow shook her head and motioned for Trixie to come closer, she obliged and moved close so Dash wouldn't have to raise her voice

"Trixie, we are doing all this because of Twilight"

"What do you mean?"

"Twilight was badly injured recently, by King Sombra..."

Trixie clearly knew who Sombra was, because at the mention of his name, her gaze dropped and she looked generally worried for once

"Is Sparkle alright?"

Rainbow shook her head

"She's only got about a week to live, he blasted her with some kind of dark magical spell that is killing her from the inside...Trixie...she is going to die...for certain....unless..."

Trixie understood and nodded

"Unless Sombra is destroyed before then...That explains the need for the Crystal Heart, to lure out Sombra, I'm guessing...but what's this book in the library for?"

"Well...I don't quite understand how it works, although I don't think Daybreak fully does either...but apparently, this book contains a powerful magic, mostly dark, so I'm told. And anypony who reads from it is filled with untold knowledge of certain magic...I can't really explain it well, but apparently the magic that is formed varies by each pony."

Trixie was clearly intrigued to learn this, but could at least now understand some parts of their plan, Rainbow allowed her to absorb that for a moment, then continued

"Now only Daybreak told me this part...but apparently Princess Luna read from the book and was filled with the knowledge that allowed her to become Nightmare Moon...and King Sombra also read from the book before he became...whatever he is now, apparently he didn't always look...soooooo...."

"Evil?"

"I guess, no other real word for it"

"Ok Trixie understands all of that, and she guesses that based on that info, there obviously hasn't ever been any good results from that book...but knowing that, why would Daybreak want to use it, what if it corrupts him too..."

Dash had no answer, but it was a question that had certainly been eating at her. To be frank and honest, Daybreak was, pretty much overpowered when it came to magic, and she knew he was aware of that. And personally, just in Rainbows opinion, she thought he might even be stronger than all of the Princesses, unless they all combined against him...other than that, she assumed Discord could best him...maybe, she wasn't exactly sure on that one though. It seemed to make sense that the father should beat the son, but they were both so full of surprises...she really didn't want to have to find out. Add that to the fact that this book would give him some unknown power that may corrupt him...she was seriously worried about what might happen.

She lowered her head

"I don't really know what we could do if he got corrupted too-"

"That's what I have you for Trixie"

They both turned and saw Daybreak had completed the portal to Canterlot, Trixie was flabbergasted

"ME?! What in the name of Celestia do you think I could do against you?!"

Daybreak almost chuckled

"If I happened to lose control, you can use the Alicorn Amulet, or give it to somepony else if you don't want to, you should remember where it is now"

Trixie opened her mouth, as thought to argue, then shut it, as though unable to form a proper argument. Oddly enough, it was Rainbow Dash who was still unconvinced by Daybreak's supposed plan

"Even with that Amulet, no matter how much power it may give anypony, how can you expect them to take you on?"

A slight chuckle escaped from Daybreak, which worried both Trixie and Dash

"They don't have to take me on, they just have to have enough power to seal me or keep me from using any magic"

"That's not as easy as you make it sound you know"

Trixie piped up, she could see that he hadn't really thought out what a viable solution would be if he couldn't handle the power he was supposed to get. He also however, didn't really seem to care all that much either.

"Look if it comes to that, we can figure it out then, right now I only care about actually getting the book, and killing Sombra, after that's done, we can worry about side-effects."

Although unconvinced, Trixie and Rainbow decided not to argue with him and proceeded over to the shimmer pool of water that was their portal. Looking inside they could see Canterlot swarming into clear focus. Daybreak walked up behind Trixie and placed his hand on her hat

"Once we are there, it'll be your job to find Aecious, Trixie, once that's done, I'll do the rest of the talking, got it?"

Trixie nodded

Rainbow Dash looked to Daybreak with a confused expression

"His name is Aecius?"

Trixie shook her head cutting across Rainbow

"no no no, Trixie believes it is pronounced Awe-see-us not Aecius"

"Arceus?"

Daybreak smacked his face into his palm

"For the love of Celestia it's Aecious! A-E-C-I-O-U-S! Can we please move on now?"

Rainbow snickered

"You sure its not Aucious?"

Daybreak glared at her, she rolled her eyes and casually hopped into the portal, with a slight push from Daybreak, Trixie followed behind her. Daybreak went through last, still wondering even he would have been better off just going at it alone.

After the brief feeling of being sucked through a small watery tube, the trio appeared in the grand city of Canterlot, none to ceremoniously though, the portal spat them into a heap of garbage and disappeared with a small pop. Trixie got up from the pile of trash fuming, clearly displeased to have been spat into a pile of filth. While Rainbow and Daybreak merely wiped the large pieces of trash off them, Trixie went the extra mile and cleared off all trash and dirt from her cape and hat, then tended to fixing her mane and coat. By the time she was finished, she looked up and saw them both waiting for her impatiently, Daybreak was tapping his foot on the ground. Trixie blushed

"What? Trixie takes pride in her appearance, she must look her best if she is to be meeting with Aecious again"

Rainbow hovered above the unicorn and picked a small banana peel off the top of her hat

"Why? Is he some high end pony? Probably stuck like the rest of the rich ponies around here..."

She rolled her eyes, clearly displeased or annoyed with the way Canterlot ponies often treated them. Daybreak had to admit it was true though, before he was a prince they treated him like trash too, just because he lived in Ponyville, or rather most of them did anyways, there was always a few good ones.

Trixie however, had a small blush, but hid it well

"No, nothing like that, he actually dresses rather bland, usually he has a long black robe covering most of his form, sometimes he wears a hood, he did last time Trixie met him, although that was because it was snowing, but other than the robe, he will often wear nothing as far as I have seen. No Trixie just wants to look nice when speaking to him, so he will hopefully remember Trixie"

Rainbow rolled her eyes

"You're the only mare that dresses in that getup Trixie, I highly doubt anypony would forget that. Also could you calm it with the first and third person talking, pick one geesh...At least before you used to be set on one.."

"Oh let her be Rainbow, we have more important things to be doing anyways"

Trixie beamed at Daybreak and trotted ahead of the pair

"Follow Trixie"

Daybreak and Rainbow followed close behind as Trixie began her trot along the nearby alleyways. She wove through the shadowy corners of the streets like she had practiced it a dozen times over. Night was beginning to dawn on Canterlot, that meant that the Princesses had no doubt returned to Canterlot, and must have judged the random snow storm as natural. However Daybreak knew what else night meant for the quiet streets of Canterlot. Just as Trixie went to round the nearest street, a light shined by her, missing only because Daybreak had yanked her by the cape half a second before. He pressed her and Rainbow up against the wall and made a "shhhh" motion with his hands.

After a few moments, the light inched its way around the street and passed them by, as it passed it became clear it was a royal unicorn guard, out on nightly patrol. Trixie wiped the sweat from her head

"Trixie is most sorry, she had no idea there would be guards out already"

Daybreak shrugged

"It's fine Trixie, they aren't normally out until the moon has risen fully. It does seem odd that the patrols would have already started..."

His expression showed he was obviously worried, but Rainbow Dash offered solution that made him feel much more at ease.

"Well, considering everything that has happened, and King Sombra returning, it makes sense that the guards would be on a more alert status than normal."

Daybreak thought about this, then sighed with apparent relief

"Don't worry Daybreak..." Rainbow said as she patted his shoulder for comfort "There's no way they could be onto us already, we haven't really broken any laws yet, unless annoyingly distracting snowstorm counts, other than that we're good"

Daybreak smiled, but was still a bit shaky

"That's true Dash, but we still can't afford to be seen, especially by guards, they would inform Celestia of our whereabouts immediately. After all, it can't possibly go unnoticed that one of the Princes' of Equestria just suddenly disappeared during the day, they and our friends are all probably wondering where we are now."

Dash nodded, she then noticed, far up ahead, two more guards had just entered the alleyway and were holding their position checking corners for something, probably homeless ponies. Dash pointed them out to Daybreak and Trixie. Trixie huffed in annoyance

"Uggghh how dare they come down here and get in our way like that..."

Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle

"Yeah, how dare they just stand there and do their job, right?"

Trixie huffed and Daybreak rolled his eyes

"We're gonna have to sneak past them, I don't wanna risk teleporting around Canterlot if I can avoid it, that's sure to be noticed by somepony eventually"

Trixie smirked slyly

"If we get spotted we can always just drop them..."

Rainbow shot her a look, quickly causing Trixie to clarify her statement

"I meant as in knock them out, or gag them and throw them in a dumpster or something"

This did not cause Rainbow to feel much better, despite the fact that it was better than what she had originally thought Trixie had meant. It wasn't like she minded kicking around the guards, it just didn't feel completely right to her to do so unless they had to

"Let's just sneak by, ok?"

Daybreak saw the look in Rainbow's eyes. She was clearly not comfortable, he placed his hand on her back and gave it a gentle rub with his claws

"That's fine with me Rainbow, let's go"

He gave her another reassuring pat on the mane before directing the mares to follow behind him, he motioned for them to stay no more than two hoof steps away and mimic his movements. The alleyway ahead of them was filled with trash cans and dumpsters, along with small crevices in the walls where ponies could hide, Daybreak assumed that ponies without homes probably did this from time to time. It wasn't hard to imagine considering where he used to live. The two unicorn guards ahead seemed done with their investigation of the crevices ahead and turned to walk down towards Daybreak and the others.

Daybreak quickly dove behind a dumpster with Rainbow and Trixie right behind him. Although they were dead silent, the guards still seemed to feel the need to come down towards them, apparently checking every little hiding hole for possible prowlers or lurkers. Daybreak considered there options, magic would be too obvious ad would give them away just from the light, although he was sure he could knock the guards out with ease, he didn't want to run the risk of there being others about.

He shut his eyes tight, slowly but surly hearing their hoof steps growing closer. He knew that his whole plan would be ruined if the Princesses were alerted to where he was now, he was sure Celestia would figure out what he was up too. He couldn't run that risk, even if it meant taking out these guards, in any way he could. With that thought in mind, Daybreak dove from behind the dumpster and grabbed at the nearest trash can, and, with a magically enhanced kick, he sent the container flying at the two. As the container neared them, time seemed to slow down for Daybreak, he saw one guard begin to shut his eyes in fear, while the other activated is horn. Daybreak went for the one with his eyes shut first.

The unicorn with his horn flared caught the can in his aura and began to turn his head to toss it away. At almost the same moment as the guard turned his head to fling the can, Daybreak slid under it and came up in front of the pair. Without haste Daybreak ignited his already flying fist in aura and connected it with the guard who had shut his eyes for that brief moment. His fist met the guards jaw and propelled him into the nearby wall, the other one was beginning to bring his head back around as Daybreak brought his other hand down in a knife strike onto his neck. The guards horn went out like birthday candle as he dropped to the ground with a thump.

Daybreak began to turn around to give his friends the all clear, when a loud yelp followed by a swooshing sound of a hoof reached his ears. He whipped his head back to see two ponies standing at the alleyway entrance. The first one was another patrol guard, and was beginning to slump forward to the ground. The other was a stallion covered by black robe and hood. As the guard slumped forward, his eyes rolled into his head and a slight bit of drool escaped from his lips. The stallion gave him a look of disgust and walked over him, barely allowing his robe to touch the guard. He approached Daybreak and began to extend his hoof while motioning back towards the unconscious guard

"I think you missed that one"

Daybreak smirked and took his hoof, shaking it firmly

"I think you missed those two"

Daybreak pointed behind himself at the guard on his belly, and the other inside the wall. The stallion chuckled

"Naw, I didn't miss 'em, just wanted to see how you'd handle it...and I'd say you handled it well for not using any magic...my names-

"AECIOUS!"

The stallions eyes shot wide along with a pair of wings that shot out in his shock as Trixie dove forward from behind the dumpster and tackled the hooded stallion to the ground, crushing him in a death hug. Besides completely destroying his personal space, her tackle had also caused him to lose his robe, which now lay on the ground as Trixie pressed their noses together and practically squealed in his face

"It's been so long since Trixie has seen you, how have you been?"

Aecious struggled out of Trixie grasp and flapped his way to his hooves, he dusted himself off before addressing her.

"I was alot better since our last talk Trixie, that is until you nearly crushed me to death just now"

Her ears lowered as she began to form a small frown on her face, Aecious took notice of this and chuckled

"You've certainly come down a few notches since we last met...What happened to the Great and Powerful Trixie whose pride and ego were bigger than Celestia's sun?"

Trixie blushed, but perked back up again, Daybreak quickly cut her off before she could speak and delay them further

"Not to be rude, but we are in kind of a rush"

Rainbow Dash swooped in from behind the dumpster and hovered next to Daybreak

"Yeah, so why don't you just give us what we need so we can get going?"

Aecious eyed her with a curiosity

"Are you presuming that I know what you're here for?"

Rainbow flushed

"Oh...well...um...not really, I only meant that-"

"Oh, I see, it was just a brash statement then...you must be Rainbow Dash, assuming of course I couldn't surmise that from your flamboyant colors and Cutie Mark"

Daybreak smirked, this pegasus had quite the attitude, although he clearly had made the wrong impression on Rainbow already, as she then stuck her tongue out at him and landed next to Daybreak. Daybreak stepped forward and retrieved Aecious' robe from the ground. He draped it over his right arm smartly, took three paces and handed it to Aecious, then bowed slightly and took a pace back. Aecious raised his eyebrows

"Hmmm...now that is peculiar...You are Prince Daybreak, no doubt...but you move like a servant of the palace, rather than a royal yourself...I can only wonder at what your backstory might be. Should be an interesting tale to tell sometime..."

Daybreak let a sly smirk slip across his face

"It might just be the most interesting tale you've ever heard"

"Oh now I wouldn't go that far, I've seen quite alot of weird and strange things in my life so far"

Aecious took a slow pace and circumnavigated his way around Daybreak, strolling an a perfect circle as though studying him.

"As it so happens, I do know why you're here, and what you want from me."

The looks of shock he was expecting to get from his new acquaintances did not come, instead, the only real change in their expressions came from Rainbow Dash, who wore a skeptical look

"And let me guess, you know that from whatever secret sources tell you all these things you supposedly know?"

Aecious gave her a dry look

"Hardly...I'm just not an idiot. It wasn't exactly a well kept secret, what happened to Princess Twilight, although I assume the nature of her condition has been under exaggerated. After all, the news reached me almost immediately. And considering the rumors that you disappeared almost immediately afterwards are also apparently true, I can only assume the fact that you are here in front of me proves that her condition is in fact much worse than what has been shown, apparently enough to drive you to steal from your own mentor. Does that sound about accurate?"

Daybreak was beginning to reeeeeeally like this pegasus, he couldn't recall ever meeting anypony who this this clever, other than Twilight, and certainly never met one who wasn't a unicorn. With a slight nod he continued their talk

"So what is it gonna take to make you help me get inside?"

Aecious was clearly waiting for this question, as he apparently already knew what he wanted and answered immediately.

"I'll do ya even better, I'll get you inside the library and passed nearly all the guards undetected and I'll accompany you myself to help get it done. And I only want one thing in return..."

Daybreak was assuming he wasn't going to like whatever Aecious wanted, but asked anyways

"And that would be?"

Aecious seemed to pause just to watch their faces grow more and more scrunched with anticipation, finally he chuckled and conceded to tell them, enjoying his moment of brief humor

"I want you to issue a royal decree, that I am to be left alone by all royal guards in Ponyville and Canterlot from this day forward, assuming you're not exiled or killed as a result of your decisions after today, I want to be left to my business from now on."

Now perplexed, Daybreak had to know more

"I can understand Canterlot...but why Ponyville?"

Aecious turned his back to them for a moment as though to hide his expression

"Let's just say, I used to live their...and I'd like to be welcome back without having to wear a large hood over my face...oh and while we are at it, you can add Cloudsdale as well...for my own reasons"

Daybreak and Rainbow Dash traded glances with each other, both were clearly uncomfortable with the thought of such a knowledgeable pony being immune to all guard interference in such places...but nevertheless, unlike with Trixie, Daybreak doubted he could force the info out of this pegasus even if he was cruel enough to torture him. Although he knew it would probably cause him some extra annoyance in the future, Daybreak agreed to Aecious' terms and shook his hoof again. He decided he would just have himself or Rainbow Dash check on him every so often, just to be sure he wasn't abusing his privilege. And of course this was all under the assumption that they were even still alive or in any position to make that order at the end of this.

Aecious redressed himself in his cloak, and began move down the forward alley towards the streets, he turned and motioned for them to follow, but as Rainbow made to take of he shook his head and lightly stomped his feet, indicating her to only walk for now. As they rounded the closest street, Daybreak took a glance at the night sky and saw the moon was in full rise by this point. He looked down the upcoming streets, there was no guards to be found, Daybreak could only assume Aecious had already dealt with them, or else picked this route cause he knew it was clear of patrol. Daybreak ran up beside Aecious, curious to learn as much about this mysterious pegasus as he could.

"Aecious, there's really no need for you to actually go inside the palace with us, why not just tell us what we need to know and be done with it"

Not slowing his run to talk, Aecious managed words out in between breaths

"You need somepony with you who can adapt quick should the situation collapse on you, or should our plan fail. No offense meant to your friends, but they aren't exactly equipped to handle the situation we may face."

Rainbow Dash, who had been right behind Daybreak until now, sprinted to Aecious' side, clearly annoyed

"And what is that supposed to mean?!"

Aecious did not change his pace, or expression, although Daybreak did detect a slight flap, or quiver in his wings under that robe, clearly Rainbow did have some kind of effect of him. Although Daybreak couldn't tell if it was positive or negative.

"I mean exactly what I said Rainbow Dash, you and Trixie are not equipped to handle what we may face inside that castle. I don't know if you realize this, but we may very well have to fight more than half the royal guard should anything go wrong. AND that may not even be the worst of it, without a proper distraction or guide for you, it is a possibility that you may even run into one of, or both, of the Princesses if we aren't careful...Can any of you honestly say you would be willing to try and take down the royal guard or try and force your way past the Princesses"

"Yes!"

Daybreak answered without hesitation, but Aecious seemed to have expected that

"I was referring to them, not you"

Rainbow Dash and Trixie, who had managed to finally catch up with them, both shared equally worried looks. Giving both Daybreak and Aecious a clear answer, Aecious shook his head, and, as they rounded the nearest street corner skidded to a halt in front of another alley and approached the two mares

"Despite what skills you both may have yourselves, you endanger his task by not being fully committed, you would hesitate if the situation became dire, you may have chosen to accompany him and commit treason by word, but other than a pretty snow storm and leading him to me, what have either of you really done wrong yet? I can't force him to send you both home, but I would at least highly encourage that you two not be brought inside the castle."

Trixie lowered her head in shame, and although Rainbow looked upset enough to scream at Aecious, and although at another time, Daybreak would have actually loved to see those two go at it, now was not the time. Daybreak brought his hand down in Rainbow's mane and ran it through her hair, massaging her scalp and scratching her ear, effectively crippling her instantly. Aecious looked interested

"Hmm...a herd perhaps?

Daybreak flushed slightly

"Sort of...it's just me, Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Trixie's not part of it"

Although Trixie was shocked by the sudden revelation of Daybreak having a herd, it also encouraged her to try to get in on it if she could, after all, herds could always add new members...she hoped at least. Aecious turned away and shook his head, then pointed at the alley in front of them as they started down it.

"We will sleep here for the night, I've got my own little hiding spot farther in...it's more or less a bar than anything else...but it's not public, officially it was closed down years ago due to some.......questionable activity going on there, but the owner had nowhere else to go, so she secretly continued it, leaving the outside to rot so it would look abandoned. Trust me, if you feel like gathering some real team members for your adventure after Canterlot, this would be the place to do it. All sorts of ponies that don't wanna be bothered come in here all the time."

Rainbow looked very suspicious

"What sort of ponies?"

Aecious had been hopping Rainbow would as that, and clearly enjoyed giving his answer

"Well, Daring Do frequents here almost every time she visits Canterlot, I hear you two are pretty close now, considering you're in her newest book. I would assume she's here now as she arrived in Canterlot just a few days prior as A.K Yearling."

Clearly that was enough for Rainbow Dash, she rocketed past them to the bar ahead, and bean hopping in front of it, impatiently waiting for them to catch up. Aecious smiled and Daybreak let out a small chuckle

"You read Daring Do?"

"Everypony needs a hobby, what of yourself Prrrrrrrince, what do you do with you free time?"

The obvious answer was a little too private for him to be sharing with a pony he just met, but Aecious seemed to gather his answer from Daybreaks face. With a chuckle he led them into the bar, although the initial look on the inside was less than welcoming, Daybreak could easily see why this place remained hidden and was a good place for ponies that didn't want to be bothered. The mere setup seemed to allow for ponies to duck or hide at a moments notice should the guard come knocking, and the run down look would make any suspicion nearly vanish should anypony actually bother to come in. The door had an old bell attached to it that rang surprisingly loud when opened, add to that there was a long hallway wall before the actual bar entrance inside, and this place was the perfect hide away for ponies.

Aecious immediately made his way to the counter to talk with the owner, she was clearly not used to so many ponies entering at one time, and so was understandably nervous at the sight of them, combined with the fact Daybreak was a Prince, he could see why Aecious might need to explain things to her. Meanwhile, while Trixie scoped out the bar for a free table, Daybreak looked around for Rainbow Dash. Surprisingly she had already managed to locate Daring Do in the hoard of crowded tables, begin a conversation with her, and to Daybreak's great surprise, trap her in a death hug. Although Daring did eventually manage to escape her hug, Rainbow kept up a conversation with her. She didn't seem as annoyed as Daybreak heard she had been the last time they met, although this was clearly under better circumstances...at least for Daring.

Daybreak smiled and walked over to join in their talk. Rainbow practically snatched him from his walk and pulled him over to introduce him to Daring. She seemed pleased to meet him, and they all managed to strike up a conversation about their activities as of late. Somehow Rainbow managed to "let slip" what they were up to, and although Daybreak was extremely flabbergasted she would do that, Rainbow assured him that no pony was better at keeping secrets than Daring Do. Once they had explained their current state to Daring she seemed thoroughly interested, and even voiced that there were several hidden passage ways under the castle that could come in handy to them. Daybreak was about to thank her for that bit of info, but Aecious called him away, waving from the counter. Daybreak excused himself and went over to Aecious, who was clearly upset about something

"What's up? You scrunch up your face anymore and it might turn inside out...is something wrong?"

"Yes something is very, horribly, unbearably wrong......they have only two rooms available"

Daybreak couldn't see the problem at first, then after a moment it struck him and he couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing. As he wiped the tears from his eyes he managed to cough out

"Have fun with Trixie lover pony, I'm sure she will just loooooove the good news"

Aecious glared at him, but was quickly interrupted by Daring Do's approach, followed by Rainbow closely

"What's up over here.."

She glanced from Daybreak's face to Aecious' frown

"Is something wrong?"

Daybreak managed to stop his fit and coughed out

"They only have two rooms available, so Aecious and Trixie will be together and me and Rainbow in the other"

Aecious kicked the legs of the closest table, making a very unsubtle crack in it. Daring was quick to his rescue though

"That's ok, you and Rainbow Dash can room with me tonight, that way your friend here can get his own room"

Rainbow Dashes eyes lit up like Hearths Warming Eve, Daybreak knew that look and immediately feared for his life

"Oh dear Celestia..."

Author's Notes:

Sorry this one to so long guys, Navy life is a busy life, that and trying to track down Blackgryphon.
It takes up my time, but anyways for those of you who want to see Pictures of the newest OC's in the Fic (aka Shining Star and Aecious)
Do not fret, once I get permission from there creators I shall be posting their images as well but for now use your imaginations and descriptions to go by
(Oh look...is that a new main character in the character section of this fic)
Also for those of you that miss the clop, the next chapter or the one directly after will have plenty, I Pinkie Pie Promise
Brony on until then