Aurthur visits Equestria

by James Fire

The Dining Room

Sombra knew we were coming? How?! My mind is racing, trying to figure a way out of this, but the only solution I come up with is a head-on battle, well, that, or just play along and see what happens, but I'm not certain we would win a battle, and I have no idea what he is planning. We can't teleport, in the time it would take to charge it up, he could do any number of things, so, I do the only rational thing to do here.

"We came as soon as we got your invitation. The trip was uneventful, thank you for asking. Where's the food?" Meanwhile, I use a spell to block Sombra while sending a telepathic message to everyone else. :Keep calm, follow my lead, do not attack, we do not have the advantage. And Discord, see what you can do about protecting the rest of us. Your magic isn't obvious.: I get a good look at Sombra, seeing that he has the element in a holder in his chest. Yes, actually in his chest. It would appear that his body has formed around it. That it going to make it difficult. However, taking a much closer look into him with my Mage-Sight, I see something that is difficult to make out. If that is what I think it is, that means that there are two souls contained in this body. Of course, it could also just be interference from the element, but the possibility is there. This pony may be possessed.

Sombra smiles, and flicks his head to indicate we should follow him. We do so, and he leads us to a dining room, where there is actually a spread of food ready. I magically scan it, determining that the only thing wrong with it is that it was brought into being by magic, rather than being grown and made.

"Help yourselves, there is plenty enough for everyone. I am expecting other guests, so please don't wait for me." He leaves the room, with a door that wasn't there a moment ago closing behind him. Cadance, being closest, inspects it.

"Locked, and warded too. Seems he doesn't want us wandering."

"Well, we have food, so eat. I have checked it, and there is nothing wrong with it. But now, we also need to figure out a way to capture him. The element is in his chest, meaning we might need to literally pull it from his dead body."

Cadance seems to have much conviction about the situation, saying "I don't think I will have a problem with that."

Twilight, however, seems a bit more reserved. "Do we need to kill him? I mean, if we really have to, then I will, but do we actually need to?"

Celestia and Luna are very quiet about it, only saying "We will do what is necessary for the protection of Equestria."

Cadance's response to Twilight is very straight-forward. "Think of what he has done to my people Twilight, I will not let a monster like that live, willing to do those things to his own kind." Twilight seems very surprised at the coldness in Cadance's voice, unwilling to believe that Cadance would kill.

"There is one other thing though. I looked at Sombra, and I think there are two souls in there, meaning the pony has been possessed, so it may not have been the pony that did it, but rather the thing that has possessed it." I let a moment pass for that to sink in. "You are being quiet Discord, do you have any thoughts?"

"How exactly did that element of Dark Magic get here in the first place? Was it put through a portal? Was it instant teleported?"

"It was put through a portal, I found the portal it was sent through, but it closed when the element left the vicinity. Or rather, that's what I think happened. I could have used that portal to go home, and even to pinpoint the exact location of this world relative to mine, which would allow me to make my own to go home. But it closed before I did any of that, because I decided following Sombra was more important at the time. I can show you where it was, but it was not there when I went back to it after he went into the cave. It may have reappeared, but I doubt it."

There is food here, so I think I shall eat. Following my example, most of the others do so as well. Cadance, however, just paces the room, horn glowing, probably looking for a way out. She seems very on-edge, and impatient to get Sombra. We then hear Sombra, or whatever it is, speak to us through some sort of spell.

"Welcome all! Now that the only beings that can stand in my way are trapped, I can conquer Equestria, just as should have happened all those centuries ago." Idiot! How could I have not seen this coming! It was so obvious. Grrrrr, I need to find a way out of here, and now! Quickly looking at the shielding and wards around the room, I find no weaknesses to exploit. Teleporting out is not viable, as that would trigger one of the wards, causing it to drain the one attempting to port. Gating might be an option, but I am fairly certain I am the only one that could make it work around the wards. We could just use brute force to break everything he placed, but... wait a minute, there is a weak spot. That point right there. All the wards and shielding are tied to each other there, as well as being tied to... a node! Now, while I can't reach the node, we could drain mana from that point, weakening the protections that are in place. Assuming, of course, there isn't one to prevent that.

"Anyone got any ideas? I have a few, but am not certain of their outcome." I decided that honesty was best for the moment. "Twilight? I believe you are the most well-read among us." I can see her thinking, very hard at that.

"Well, there is that point where everything is tied together, we could try to break that. Unravel them, and the whole is much weaker, as they are no longer supporting each other."

"Good eye Twilight! I didn't see that, but did you notice that the spells are also being powered through there? If we were to unravel that, it might stop them altogether. I was thinking of just draining all the mana from there, achieving almost the same effect. Anyone else?"

"I could try to mess up the spells themselves." Discord seems eager to try that. "It would have unpredictable effects that might be fun to watch!"

"Yes Discord, let's just do something that we have no idea what will happen. Great idea." Luna's drawl is very effective, causing Discord to shrink, literally.

"Well, I don't hear you giving any suggestions." A fair point, but a weak response to what she said.

"Since mine and Twilight's ideas are similar, how about we try them? Twilight, can you unravel the spells from each other?" She had been studying it intently since giving the idea, probably trying to figure out how to do so without triggering them.

"Yes, I believe I can. But I think some of the energy should be constantly drained so that the spells are under-powered, thus being less likely to trigger."

"Okay, I will drain the mana, since I probably have the greatest capacity out of all of us, just let me get," here, I start rummaging in my saddlebags, looking for a specific crystal,"here it is!" I pull out an unassuming black block of crystal. The others present recoil a bit as i pull it out. "You can feel the power contained in it, eh? This is the single most powerful magical object I have created to date. Even more powerful, in a limited sort of way, than the Element of Dark Magic. It is able to hold an amount of mana approximately equivalent to four hundred Adept Mages. I have no idea how that translates to your unit of measurement, but that is just over three times the mana that the six of us currently have. Anyway, I am going to drain the mana into this. Whenever you are ready Twilight."

Twilight nods, and her horn starts to glow. My horn begins glowing as well. I construct a mana channel from the point to my personal storage, as well as the crystal, and start pulling mana from it. As I pull faster and faster, I see Twilight start to carefully probe at the spells, and how they interact. Once she has probed it sufficiently, she starts to untie them, placing counter spells on them all, nullifying all the wards and protections, one by one. Once our horns stop glowing, Twilight falls to her knees, while I rush over to her to give her a boost of mana. After I am done transferring the mana, she is still breathing heavily, but is no longer completely exhausted.

"How are you Twilight? Do you need a moment?" She turns to look at me, and smiles before responding.

"I could use a moment. Thank you for the energy, Mana." I nod, and turn towards the door. Scanning it, I see nothing.

Turning towards the group, I address them, "The defences are down, we can leave. But Twilight says she needs a minute to recover from the exertion." The others nod, and head over to the buffet tables, while I address Twilight, "Do you need something to eat? There is plenty of food on the tables." She shakes her head, when a grumble interrupts her. "I think you do. Let's get you over there." I then pull her up to her hooves, and prod in the direction of the buffet. "Eat, you will feel better after. I shall have some too." Even though the world is in danger, we go sit and eat.

Author's Note:

Sorry this took so long to get out, but life has been happening. I will continue writing when I can, but I cannot promise quick output of chapters.

Comments

[Boulder]

"We came as soon as we got you invitation.

your

Gating might be an option, but I am fairly certain I am the only on that could make it work around the wards.

one

"I could use a moment. Thank you for the energy, Mana."

Maybe just 'mana energy' here.

The others nod, and head over to the buffet tables, while ? address Twilight, "Do you need something to eat?

? = Add 'I'
Sombra is being a tricky little so and so here.←reflecting room occupants annoyance.

[James Fire]

8001833
Thank you for those!

Except the one with mana. Don't you remember that is Aurthur's pony name? Pinkie pie said it way back when.

[Boulder]

8002988 Ah, sorry forgot, it's been a while,that makes sense then.

[James Fire]

8003256
It happens to the best of us. Thoughts on how it is so far?

[Boulder]

8003313 Interested to see who other guests are, if they are part of this. Cady is a little OOC but understand her reasons, guessing Tia & Luna still have some large part to play yet. Otherwise it seems to be picking up some speed now.

[James Fire]

8003424
So aside from Cady, I have them in character?

[Boulder]

8003449 The rest seems good,