The Dresden Fillies - deviantART

Chapter 6
Nopony could remember when the quarry had been abandoned. Few even
knew it existed. It had once supplied stone for the Castle of the Royal
Sisters, but it had gone to ruin long before the palace. Located deep in the
Everfree Forest it was a secluded and empty place. The Great and
Powerful Trixie had stumbled across it on one of her earlier journeys. The
workers' quarters had once been a massive building capable of housing
dozens of ponies, but these days it was a crumbled ruin. Still, some of its
rooms were preserved enough to act as shelter and Trixie had taken one
as her home. The cold stone room wasn't a place she would have preferred
to live, but beggars, or in this case secretive unicorns, couldn't be
choosers.
The mare appeared there an hour or so after dusk in a dazzling display of
light. She brought with her a pair of worn saddlebags and a small, sleeping
dragon. Trixie set her hostage on the ground and checked her saddlebags,
pleased to see their contents were unchanged. The small pocket watch
she'd liberated from its unpleasant owner gave nine soft chimes reminding
her of the time. Trixie was displeased; she still had hours to go until the
proper time.
To keep herself busy Trixie strengthened the sleeping spell on the little
dragon, ensuring he'd stay unconscious for the next few days. Her stomach
rumbled, and she considered her store of food. She didn't have much, but a
simple dinner of oats and wild berries would do just fine. She did need to
mind her trim, lovely figure, after all. Once she was done there was still
time to kill, so she practiced her magic. The voice whispered its usual
encouragement and advice as she worked. Under its tutelage she had
vastly improved her already impressive skills. As the minutes ticked closer
and closer to midnight her excitement grew until she could no longer focus
on her magic. The voice cautioned her to be patient, but she could feel that
it was even more on edge than she was.
At a quarter to midnight, she stopped pretending to practice and gathered
her materials. From the sealed chest in the rear of the tiny room, she
withdrew the fruit of her months of labor. The war hammer was unnaturally
heavy, and it gleamed silver even in the lightless shack. It was made from