Chapter 20
Shadow of the Sun
By Starwin
Chapter 20
“Twilight?” asked the slightly sleepy voice Applejack.“What are ya’ll doing?” Twilight lifted her head out of Applejack’s saddle bag, a roll of parchment in her mouth.
“Sowee I need dis,” replied Twilight, her mouth full of paper. Twilight dropped the parchment down onto the ground and unrolled it with her hooves. It was the map of Equestria that Spike had used to guide the way. “Six holes…” Twilight whispered to herself. “Six holes…”
“Twilight, are ya alright?” asked Applejack, now a little more awake. Twilight didn’t answer. Instead her focus was solely dedicated to the map in front of her.
She produced a quill and ruler from some place. Holding the map flat with her hooves she used her magic to place the ruler and draw with her quill. She made two long lines crossing at the center of the map.
“Yes! I’m right!” exclaimed Twilight, examining her work. “Look!” She levitated the map into the air so that Applejack could see the giant ‘X’ now dividing Equestria.
“Uh… okay?” replied Applejack uncertainly.
“Look!” cried Twilight, pressing a hoof against the map as if this suddenly made everything clear. “Don’t you see! I thought the elements had been placed along our path! But they weren’t! Six holes! Don’t you see!” Applejack gave Twilight a look that very plainly said she had no idea what her friend was on about.
“We found mine in this lake!” pressed Twilight. She tapped the spot again with her hoof as though this explained everything. “And this line, from the hole in the throne room, perfectly intersects it!”
“Hole in the…?” asked Applejack, trying to keep up. “Twilight what’re ya’ll on about?”
“No time to explain,” said Twilight. She used her magic to toss the blankets off Applejack. “We need to wake the other! We have a map to the rest of…”
“Twilight!” shouted Applejack, finally managing to snap Twilight out of her rambling. “What in tarnation are you talking about?”
“The elements!” answered Twilight impatiently. “I figured out where they are. Now come on, we don’t have a moment to lose! We have to hurry.”
“You figured out where they are,” repeated Applejack, not getting out of bed.
“Yes!” exclaimed Twilight. “See! Right here, on this map!” Twilight lifted the map again to emphasize her point.
“Along these lines,” said Applejack.
“Yes!” cried Twilight starting to become annoyed.
“These lines that extend from one end of Equestria to the other,” stated Applejack.
“Ye…” Twilight caught herself, her eyes suddenly returning to the map.
“These lines,” continued Applejack, “that run from the Eastern Ocean, to the West Coast?”
“Well, uh… yes,” said Twilight, realization starting to sink in.
“Where exactly along those lines are they?” asked Applejack.
“Some… place…” replied Twilight with a slightly sheepish smile.
“Twilight,” said Applejack, looking her friend in the eyes.
“Yes?” asked Twilight.
“Go get some sleep, sugarcube,” said Applejack, reaching over and retrieving her cast off blankets. “We can sort this all out after we’ve had some rest.”
“But…” tried Twilight desperately. Applejack just looked at her. Applejack was right, she had overreacted. She really wasn’t any closer to pinning down the location of the elements. Even if she was right, and the last three lay along these lines, they could be anywhere. A few hooves form Canterlot, or out in the middle of the ocean.
“Besides,” said Applejack, turning over and stifling a yawn. “Rainbow’s element isn’t even on any of those lines.” Twilight felt taken aback. She looked down at the map and found that sure enough, Hoofington was not on any of the lines Twilight had drawn. The town was off to the side of the lake by a good distance. “And Pinkie’s was down in the mountain.”
“Directly below the throne room, I’m sure of it,” whispered Twilight but more to herself than to Applejack. “Still… you’re right about Rainbow’s element. It doesn’t fit.”
“Go get some sleep Twilight,” mumbled Applejack. “We can go over it in the morning… err… you know what I mean.”
Somberly, Twilight left Applejack’s chambers, taking the map with her. She levitated it in front of her so that she could study it while she walked. Her eyes were focused on the location where they had found Rainbow’s element. Had she miscalculated some how? Were the holes not what she thought they were?
Looking up Twilight found that she had managed to walk into her room without even realizing it. She laid the map down on the table. Perhaps Applejack was right. Sleep would do her good and help her see what she was overlooking.
Twilight nestled down in the guest bed, snuggling under the covers. Her mind whirled and turned with questions. She didn’t know how she could possibly fall asleep with all these things buzzing inside her head. But the more she thought about it, the stranger everything became. Until at last, she wasn’t thinking about any of it any more and reality blurred into dreams.
With a sudden shock, Twilight awoke. Her name rang in her ears. Somepony had been shouting to her, calling for her, pleading with her. Somepony needed her. The distant words lingered even as the dream washed away. Twilight heard her name again, this time, it was much less dreamlike and also accompanied by a knock.
Twilight sat up in her bed.
“Twilight, are you awake?” asked the voice again. It was Rarity.
“Yes,” answered Twilight. “I’m up.” The door opened slightly and Rarity poked her head.
“I am sorry to rouse you so early dear, but Princess Luna insists on our presence,” said Rarity. Twilight wondered how long she had slept for. She still felt tired and worn out. However, she forced herself out of bed before trotting wearily towards the door and snatching her saddlebags on the way. “You look dreadful dear.”
“Tired,” replied Twilight, too fatigued to respond with a longer explanation.
“I would guess so. When exactly did you finally make it back into bed?” asked Rarity. Twilight shrugged. She had been out for hours after the others had gone to sleep. But without the movement of the Sun or Moon, she had nothing to judge her time by. “Well, perhaps you can catch a nap after we have heard what Luna has to say.”
Luna was waiting for them in a sitting room not far away. As they approached Twilight could hear the voices of her friends, even if she couldn’t make out the words. When she and Rarity appeared at the doorway, the talking stopped and her friends looked up at her. The others, even Spike, although he looked like he would rather be asleep still, were gathered around Luna, seated on various cushions and pillows.
“Ah, Twilight Sparkle, I see you are awake at last,” said Luna with a smile. “I am sorry to take you from your dreams.”
“No, I’m fine,” said Twilight, fighting back a yawn. Twilight trotted to an open spot beside Spike and sat.
“So… then you’re not going to try and move the Moon again?” asked Pinkie Pie. Twilight had obviously missed some of the previous discussion. Luna shook her head.
“No, I believe summoning Nightmare Moon a second time would be… unwise,” said Luna. There was a flicker of something in her face that Twilight thought might be fear. “While the Sun is not fully eclipsed, at least half of Equestria is covered in shadow. It will have to do for now. We have more pressing things to attend to.”
“Like what?” asked Trixie in disbelief.
“I know you have all come far, of that there is no doubt,” said Luna. “And if I did not have to ask this of you, I would not. Yet, what you seek is not here. What Equestria need’s, is out there. I must ask that you prepare to venture forth once more in search of the elements, wherever they may be.”
“You want us to leave?” cried Spike in surprise.
“Spike,” hushed Twilight in a disapproving tone.
“But we just got here!” continued Spike.
“As I said,” explained Luna. “If there were any other way, I would not ask this of you. Without the Elements of Harmony, Equestria has little hope for survival. We have given them some relief, but solving one problem with another is no solution.”
“But we don’t know where they are,” said Fluttershy softly.
“Well, actually, Twilight worked out some kind of map last night,” chimed in Applejack. “Or, maybe I dreamed all that?”
“No,” said Twilight, blushing a little. She pulled the map from her saddle bag using her magic. “I was able to work out the trajectories of the elements from the holes in the throne room.”
“Holes?” asked Fluttershy in confusion.
“Don’t ask,” replied Applejack.
“But I can only guess they landed some place along these lines,” said Twilight, running her hoof along the map. “We already found mine to the south. And Pinkie’s directly under the castle…”
“And Rainbow’s way off to the side,” reminded Applejack.
“Yes… and Rainbow’s off to the side,” grumbled Twilight. “So if I’m right, then the last three should be some place along one of these lines.” Twilight ran her hoof north, west and east.
“Oh, well that certainly narrows it down,” said Trixie. “Searching this line here,” she ran a hoof west, “that should only take, what, a few months?”
“I do not understand,” announced Luna, looking up from the crude approximation of a map. “This is what my sister sent you?”
“What?” asked Twilight in confusion. “No, I worked this out myself. Princess Celestia didn’t send us any instructions on how to find the elements.” Twilight blushed uncomfortably, remembering the short contents of the letter from Celestia.
“Are you saying she gave you no way to find them?” asked Luna in surprise. “You have simply stumbled across them by chance thus far?”
“I guess so,” replied Pinkie Pie with a bounce. “Or maybe, they stumbled across us! Her letter didn’t really say anything about the elements.”
“She sent you a letter?” asked Luna sharply. The friends nodded. “Did you bring it with you?”
“I did,” answered Twilight a little uneasily. She had in truth brought both letters with them, safely tucked away in her bags.
“Let me see it,” demanded Luna. Hesitantly, Twilight rummaged through her saddlebags a second time. She used her magic to fish out the parchment from Celestia. She floated it to Luna who grabbed it out of the air and unfurled the scroll with her own magic. Her eyes raced across it, once, then twice, then a third time. “There is… nothing here!”
“That’s what we were trying to tell you,” said Spike. “She didn’t give us a map! She told us just about as much as you did! Less even!” Luna turned the parchment over, unable to comprehend that it was blank. “Really she couldn’t have taken just an extra second to write, like just two more words?”
“This note was not written,” explained Luna as she examined the parchment. “It was crafted with magic. My sister did not write you a message, she made her thoughts tangible. These words were the last things to go through my sister’s mind before...” Luna looked up at Twilight. For a brief moment, Twilight was sure Luna would scold her for not following Celestia’s instructions to stay away. But the moment passed and Luna looked away, saying nothing more.
“Couldn’t she have imagined some pictures?” suggested Spike unhappily.
“Spike!” protested Twilight a second time. She returned her focus to Luna. “Luna,” said Twilight much more softly. Twilight rose from her seat and took a few steps towards the dark mare. “If there had been time, Celestia might have sent us a map but… there wasn’t and she didn’t.” Twilight reached up and used a hoof to move away the parchment. “Celestia… your sister she… “
“Oh my word! Twilight look!” cried Rarity. Twilight and Luna looked together at Rarity, who was pointing back at them. No, not at them, at the letter that Luna was holding and Twilight had pushed away. The parchment was glowing with magic, magic not from Luna.
Carefully they lowered the letter to the floor. Twilight used her hooves to unroll the parchment so they could all see it. Shimmering lines of purple light spread from edge to edge, making a highly detailed map of Equestria, but that was all. There were no instructions. No ‘X’, like Twilight had drawn on her own map, or any other markers that indicated anything. It was just a map.
“I don’t understand,” said Twilight as she looked over the magical map. “I have dozens of these at home. We have one right here with us! What good is a magical map if it doesn’t have a location?” Twilight lifted her hooves from the map and the glowing purple lines began to fade. “What did Celestia want us to see?”
“Maybe it can show us where the cake is!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie excitedly. She leapt forward, placing her hooves on the parchment. Instantly the gem around her neck flared and the map began to redraw itself, except this time, in pink.
“Whoa,” whispered Spike. “That’s neat! Hey let me try, I wonder what color I get!”
“Okie-dokie-lokie,” said Pinkie happily, lifting up her hooves. Once more the map faded away. Spike put his claws upon it and instantly the map began to redraw itself in green.
“Ick, green,” said Rarity before she could stop herself. “Oh, I mean…”
“It’s an imprint,” said Luna softly.
“A what?” asked Spike as he pulled his claws off the map to look up at Luna.
“A memory,” said Twilight thoughtfully. “That would make sense if she didn’t write it, if she willed it into existence. She hid something in it. But why didn’t it activate before? And why doesn’t it show any locations?” Twilight put her hoof back down on the paper and watched the map redraw in purple.
“Come on Rarity, give it a try, lets see what color you get,” said Spike.
“Wait!” exclaimed Twilight lifting her hoof off the map and causing it to fade away again. “Rarity, can you try touching the map?”
“Certainly, but I am really hoping for blue,” answered Rarity. She reached a hoof forward and touched the edge of the paper, yet nothing happened. She lifted her hoof in confusion and tried again, but still the map remained blank. “Am… am I doing it wrong?”
“Spike,” instructed Twilight, “touch the letter again.” Spike did as instructed. The moment his claws came in contact with the paper, green lines of fire spread out across the map. As the lines of light filled the paper, something else appeared.
“Look! Look!” cried Pinkie pointing to a tiny silver-blue dot against the purple lines. Twilight’s brow furled as she saw where the dot was located, almost at the edge of the map. She couldn’t help but smile. If there had been a giant cross drawn in the middle of the map, Rarity’s marker would have fallen right on it.
Rarity lifted her hoof and the dot vanished.
“We had a map the whole time,” whispered Applejack. Twilight nudged Spike. He lifted his claws off the map and it faded away.
“Not the whole time,” said Twilight. “Applejack, if you could please.” Applejack moved forward. She put a hoof on the map but nothing happened. Just like with Rarity the paper remained blank. Applejack opened her mouth in confusion, but had no words.
“The elements,” explained Twilight. “We need an Element of Harmony to activate it.” Twilight touched the paper and the map shimmered back into existence, complete with an orange-gold dot for Applejack’s element. Twilight frowned as she saw where it was located. Still along her invisible line, but opposite Rarity’s.
“Rarity, Fluttershy,” continued Twilight, looking at each of her friends in turn. “Place your hooves on the map.” Her friends did as instructed and when they touched the paper, two more glowing dots, yellow and silver-blue, pulsed into existence.
“One to the West,” said Applejack, looking at the orange-gold dot.
“One to the North,” said Fluttershy, staring uncertainly at the yellow dot.
“And one to the East,” said Rarity unhappily. “Out in the ocean…”
“All as far away from each other as they could possibly be,” said Trixie, her eyes sweeping the map.
“Well, we better get going,” said Applejack. “I reckon we can head to mine first then…”
“No,” interrupted Twilight firmly, catching Applejack off guard.
“Uh, you want to head to Rarity’s first?” asked Applejack.
“No,” repeated Twilight.
“Fluttershy?” suggested Spike.
“We can’t head to just one, we need to get to each element as quickly as possible,” said Twilight. She looked at her friends seriously, but their expressions already told her they understood. “We have to split up.”
“You must be joking!” exclaimed Trixie. “What kind of chance do we have splitting up?”
“The best chance we can have,” answered Twilight. “The elements are too far away from each other, if we travel as a group it might be a month before we have them all. And we still need to find and rescue Rainbow Dash.
“It’s the only way. We don’t have another option.” Twilight looked at each of her friends in turn. They each nodded, even Fluttershy.
“So I guess I’m headed west then, out into the Sun?” asked Applejack.
“You and Spike, yes,” replied Twilight.
“And myself,” said Luna. “You will require shielding from the rays of the Sun.” She looked towards Twilight who smiled. “I know this location.” Luna tapped the map with her hoof. The purple lines indicated some large flat bit of land that might be a lake. “It is the Galloping Desert. It appears as if your element landed right in the middle of it.”
“Great,” mumbled Applejack. “Blazing sun and blistering hot sand. Sounds like ‘fun’.” Her tone was heavy with sarcasm.
“Oh! Fun! I want to go too!” cried Pinkie.
“No,” said Twilight with a shake of her head. “Pinkie, I wan you to go east with Rarity and Trixie.”
“Twilight, dear, how do you expect us to get there!” asked Rarity. “That is all the way across Equestria. Even without the Sun beating down on us, that trip will take weeks!”
“Don’t worry I have a plan to get you there,” said Twilight with a nod. “Lastly, Fluttershy and I will go North. Because there is only two of us, I should be able to teleport us.”
“Oh, that sounds terrifying, couldn’t I just, um, go with Applejack?” asked Fluttershy timidly.
“Except you’re element is north,” said Twilight.
“But you don’t really need me there for it, do you?” asked Fluttershy. “I mean, we got Rainbow’s element without her being there.”
“And she turned into a nightmare,” reminded Applejack. Fluttershy let out a small ‘eep’ of terror.
“Twilight, that is a long way to go,” said Rarity. “Are you sure you can teleport that far?”
“No,” answered Twilight with a shake of her head. “I can’t.”
“Then how…” began Applejack.
“I don’t need to do it in a single spell. We will teleport a little bit at a time until we get there,” said Twilight. “And don’t worry Fluttershy, teleporting is fun!” From the way Fluttershy was shaking, it looked like she expected anything but fun.
“Oh! Teleporting is fun! Can I go with you guys then?” asked Pinkie.
“No,” said Twilight, a bit of frustration in her voice. “Trixie and Rarity will need you.”
“Need me for what?” asked Pinkie.
“For this,” explained Twilight. She looked down at the map. Her horn glowed and the sound of ripping paper filled the air. Rarity let out a wail of distress and Luna a huff of disapproval. The map had been neatly torn into three parts. Twilight levitated one to Spike, one to Pinkie and one to herself.
“Now we each have a section,” said Twilight. She touched her piece with a hoof and it glowed. She moved it towards Fluttershy, who reluctantly put her hoof upon it, lighting the way to their destination. “One pony, or dragon, that can activate the map, and one pony to guide the way.”
It was time. Time to leave. Time to set out once more across Equestria. Time to split up and go their separate ways. One group to the West, exposed to the blazing wrath of the Sun. Another to the East, with the farthest distance to travel. And the last to the North, into the frozen crystal mountains.
Each party of ponies faced a unique challenge, but none more so than Rarity’s group, which had by far the furthest distance to travel. It was double the distance that Twilight would have to teleport and four times the distance that Applejack would need to gallop. Yet Rarity, Trixie and Pinkie would have the easiest time reaching their destination, assuming they could pull off Twilight’s plan.
The barrier around Canterlot, an invisible wall made of fire, was still in place. Luckily, they had arrived by another path. Retracing their steps, the group headed back towards the tunnel that had led them in.
There seemed to be no need for a shielding spell. With the Moon high overhead the heat of the Sun seemed to have diminished significantly. So much so that Twilight actually found it rather odd. Things should not have cooled down quite so much, not that she was complaining. Yet, the air should have still been painfully hot. The ground should have been at least warm. But it felt like just a normal, regular day.
The trek down through the passage was uneventful. It wasn’t until they were back in the tunnel with the train that Twilight explained her plan to get their friends to the East coast.
“The train,” explained Twilight, holding out a hoof. “Is the fastest, most direct route.”
“Except,” interrupted Trixie. “It doesn’t work. And, it is stuck behind piles and piles of rocks.”
“Yes,” agreed Twilight with a nod.
“So how exactly do you propose we use it?” pressed Trixie.
“Well, the first thing we need to do is move it down the mountain, to the tracks below,” explained Twilight. “Trixie is right, there are too many rock slides on the tracks for us to get it down by conventional means. So we are going to have to levitate it down.”
“You want to do what?” cried Rarity. “Twilight, that train is enormous. I know you might be a magical prodigy, but the rest of us…” Rarity looked around at Luna, a Princess who regularly, and recently, moved the Moon across the sky. And Trixie who… well was Trixie but despite her boasting was still a unicorn who had worked hard on her magical skills, even if those skills were mostly tricks to impress.
“We aren’t going to move the whole train,” answered Twilight. “Just the engine, that’s all you really need. We will lift in pairs. Each team moving the train a little way before passing it off. There are tracks every so often, so we can set it down and take a rest and reposition. At most, it should only take a few hours.”
“And what would you like the rest of us, non-unicorns to do?” asked Applejack, waving a hoof at herself, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Spike.
“You are going to help direct us,” explained Twilight. “Fluttershy can coordinate from the air. Applejack will go with Luna and Trixie. Pinkie will stay with us and relay instructions.”
“And what about me?” asked Spike, not having heard his name mentioned.
“Keep close to me and be ready to assist if needed,” said Twilight with a smile.
“Can do,” said Spike with a salute.
“And Pinkie, do you think you can uncoupled the engine,” asked Twilight.
“On it!” cried Pinkie and she hurried off in a puff of smoke.
“Okay,” continued Twilight as she began to lead the way to the front of the train. “Rarity and I will lift first. Luna, you and Trixie get down below, to the next ridge and bring Applejack with you. We will levitate the engine down to you. Once you have it, give us a signal and I’ll teleport Rarity and myself down below. Fluttershy can bring Pinkie and Spike down. Then you can pass it off to us. And we’ll continue until we get to the bottom.”
“You know how crazy this sounds, right?” asked Trixie.
“It’ll work,” answered Twilight. “Just remember, don’t stand under the train.”
Trixie nodded, then with a pop, she vanished. Luna, instead of teleporting, used her wings to fly down. Fluttershy put her hooves around Applejack and lifted her into the air with a visible effort before they descended. Twilight looked over the edge and watched to make sure they were ready.
“Pinkie? How is the engine coming?” asked Twilight.
“All unhooked,” said Pinkie, popping out from behind the train car. “Ready when you are.”
“Alright,” said Twilight. “Rarity, are you ready?” Rarity nodded, although Twilight thought she looked a little pale. “It will be fine, don’t worry, we can do this if we work together.” This did not seem to reassure Rarity very much.
“Okay, let’s start by moving it forward,” instructed Twilight. “The rockslide is covering the tracks just ahead, so we can’t move it all the way out of the tunnel. And… pull.”
Both Twilight and Rarity’s horns ignited with magic. The train glowed with a flickering multicolored aura. Twilight strained under the weight of it as did Rarity. Yet the train didn’t roll forward, despite their best efforts.
“Something is wrong,” grunted Twilight. “It won’t move.”
“I’m on it!” cried Pinkie Pie. Pinkie leapt up and into the cabin. When her head reappeared she was wearing an engineer’s cap upon her head. “Brake was on!” cried Pinkie. With a click, the wheels suddenly unlocked. The engine lurched violently forward. Luckily, both Twilight and Rarity had not taken up positions on the tracks.
The train rushed out of the tunnel. Twilight’s face strained as she worked to bring the train to a halt before it could crash into the landslide. The metal grate at the front stopped mere hooves from the rocks.
“Well, that could have gone better,” said Rarity, a little out of breath.
“Alright Pinkie, hop on out,” called Twilight.
“I’m already out silly,” said Pinkie from behind Twilight. The lavender unicorn gave a little jump of fright, not having seen Pinkie get behind her.
“Pinkie, don’t do that!” cried Twilight, working to bring her rapid breathing back under control. After a few moments Twilight was able to settle herself. “Okay, it’s time for the heavy lifting. Ready? Here we go.” Both she and Rarity used their magic together to lift the engine from the tracks.
The metal creaked and groaned as it lifted into the air. As the body lifted the wheels seemed to stay in place, getting further and further from the underside of the train. For a moment, Twilight thought the engine might separate, leaving the wheels behind. However, at last, the wheels began to lift as well, hanging well below the train.
Much to Twilight’s surprise, it actually wasn’t nearly as difficult as she had imagined it would be. It was by no means easy, but it didn’t feel like the huge metal lump of steel that it was.
Slowly, the two unicorns moved it out over the edge. Pinkie had moved over to the ledge so that she could look down below and direct.
“Looking good,” said Pinkie, “a little more, a little more, a little more! Alright, start going down!” The engine vanished over the cliff. Twilight and Rarity could no longer see it, although they continued to feel its weight. “Almost there,” directed Pinkie, “okay Applejack is waving, Luna and Trixie have it.”
“Are you sure?” asked Twilight, starting to feel a little strained.
“ARE YOU SURE!” shouted Pinkie over the edge. An echoed ‘yes’ came back up. “Yeah, they’re sure.”
At the same time, Twilight and Rarity released the spell. While it hadn’t been too taxing, Twilight was glad to not be holding up the massive hunk of metal any longer.
“Alright, we need to head down too…” began Twilight. However she had hardly gotten the words out before a thunderous boom made the very mountain shake. Fluttershy suddenly started waving her hooves, trying to get their attention.
“Whoa, what was that!” exclaimed Spike. Twilight was already hurrying towards the edge of the mountain. She stopped dead in her tracks as the great metal body of the engine rose up before them. The train’s upward momentum slowed and stopped as it hovered out in front of them, then, it began to fall.
Twilight reacted. Her horn flared to life and her magic wrapped around the engine. She strained under the weight as her body was dragged forward. Her hooves dug into the hard dirt but she continued to slide.
Spike hurried in front of her, using his body as a brace to keep Twilight from sliding off over the edge. Yet he seemed to do little to slow her down.
The two of them had almost reached the edge, Twilight straining under her magic, Spike straining under Twilight. Suddenly, they stopped moving, the back part of Spikes claws knocked tiny pebbles over the cliff. They had halted just short of the sheer drop.
A few hooves behind them, Rarity’s horn was glowing too. She had been able to add her magic just in time.
“What happened,” cried Fluttershy, flying over to them.
“Don’t know,” said Twilight, her voice strained. “Need to find a place to set it down.”
“Hold on!” cried Pinkie, she waved her arms over the edge, signaling Applejack below. “Okay, more to the left and down a dozen more hooves.”
Slowly, Twilight and Rarity worked together, lowering the engine as Pinkie gave them directions and adjustments.
“Annnd down!” instructed Pinkie. Rarity and Twilight stopped casting.
“We need to get down there and figure out what happened,” said Twilight. A few short trips, with the help of Fluttershy and Pinkie, Rarity, Twilight and Spike were all down on the ledge below. Twilight was the last to land.
The train sat a few dozen hooves away. There was no track here, just a large ledge that was somewhat flat. The engine’s metal wheels were half sunk into the dirt, but lifting it out again would be no problem.
“What happened? What went wrong?” asked Twilight.
“I did not expect such a violent reaction,” explained Luna. “It would seem that our magic is incompatible.” She glanced at Trixie, who said nothing. “Subtle differences in our casting created a conflict in the unified spell. Magic that is not perfectly balanced can fizzle away or become violently unstable. In our case,” Luna glanced at Trixie, “the latter appears to be true. Multicasting is tricky, even in the best of times.”
“I didn’t even think it was possible until Rarity and I did it by accident,” said Twilight. “I’ve never read anything on it, or had any lessons about it. We tried to teach it to other unicorns but… it didn’t exactly work.”
“I am surprised you do not know,” said Luna. “My sister never taught you how to cast magic alongside other unicorns?” Twilight shook her head. “Well, it is not a skill that just happens,” explained Luna. “It takes focus and practice. Often, a lifetime of study.
“Long ago, back before...” Luna trailed off slightly and there was a pained expression on her face “… before my sister sent me away, there were many unicorns who could cast spells together. Yet such a thing was not easily accomplished.
“Usually, only like minded unicorns were able to obtain the focus needed to maintain the complexities of a spell together and create the desired results. Every spell is slightly different and unpredictable. Even something as simple as levitation can very greatly from one unicorn to another.
“But two or more unicorns who have mastered Multicasting can cast numerous spells together. They can create exactly the same affect, the same spell.” Luna looked from Twilight to Rarity. “But I guess if any ponies could accomplish it naturally, the bearers of the elements of harmony would have the best chance.”
The group was silent as Luna finished her explanation. So many questions were running through Twilight’s head that she didn’t even know what to ask first. Well, she did know what she wanted to ask first, but it was both rude and it seemed unlikely that Luna would be able to answer it. Why had Celestia never told her?
“So,” said Spike, breaking the silence and interrupting Twilight’s thoughts. “How do we get this thing the rest of the way down?”
As it turned out, getting down was actually fairly easy, if slightly more time consuming. Instead of passing of the train from one set of unicorns to the next. Twilight and Rarity simply lowered it over and over. They would set the engine down whenever they reached the edge of their levitation magic.
A few spots didn’t have a large enough ledge for them to set it down upon. However, Luna was able to help with this, using her magic to make the ledge temporarily larger.
What should have been just a few hours turned into half a day. Yet, they had at last reached the bottom. As the metal on metal clinked together, Twilight heaved a sigh of relief.
“Alright, now we’ve got it down, but so what?” asked Trixie. “It still doesn’t work, and we have no idea how to fix it.”
“Well,” said Twilight. “We don’t exactly need to fix it.” She smiled a little sheepishly at Rarity and Trixie. “There is a reason the both of you are going East on the train. You two are going to use your magic to propel it forward.”
“We are going to what!” cried Trixie. “Did you miss the part where the engine shot up into the air and nearly came crashing back down on us?”
“Actually, I think that will make it a lot easier,” said Twilight. “Originally, I was going to suggest that you both use your magic to work the wheels and move the train. But I think if you work together the resulting, uh, effect, will propel the train forward.”
“You want us to mix our magic,” cried Rarity in slight surprise. “And you don’t think us mixing magic is going to make the train explode?”
“What? No, of course not,” said Twilight. Then she added, “Well, at least I hope not.” Her words seemed to instill little confidence in her friends. “Don’t worry, I’m mostly, almost, pretty, sure that it will work.”
“Sounds like fun!” exclaimed Pinkie. She had already climbed back up into the cabin and returned her engineer cap to her head. “It will be like a rocket train! I love rocket trains!”
“Pinkie, have you ever been on a rocket train?” asked Applejack. “Is there even such a thing?”
“Nope, and nope!” said Pinkie happily. “But I’m sure if I had, it would totally be super-fun!”
“So this is it then?” asked Spike. “We are really going to split up?”
“Yeah,” said Twilight. The reality of them going their separate ways finally began to hit her. “This is where we say goodbye.”
“I don’t wanna say goodbye!” wailed Pinkie. The group was suddenly smooshed together as Pinkie wrapped her hooves around all of them, Luna and Trixie included, in a giant crushing hug.
“It’s not like it’s goodbye forever,” said Fluttershy, trying to reassure her friend. “If everything goes according to plan, we should all be back here in no more than four days.”
“Yeah, according to plan,” mumbled Spike. “When has that ever happened?”
“Hush now Spike,” said Rarity sternly. “If Twilight is confident that this plan will work than so am I.” Twilight smiled, blushing a little but didn’t say anything. “Now, we should get going. If you don’t mind Pinkie?”
Somewhat reluctantly, Pinkie released the ponies. She still looked a little mopey, but followed Rarity and Trixie up into the train engine once more. She stuck her head out the window, looking back at her friends somewhat teary eyes. Twilight waved to her, and Spike and Applejack both joined in.
“Stay safe,” called Twilight. “We’ll see you again soon.”
“I’ll write to you every day!” called Pinkie, waving both hooves back at her friends.
The back of the train engine began to glow with swirling blue magic. A moment later, silver strands of a spell began to form as well. With the suddenness of a rubber band snapping back the two spells violently merged into one. A crack like thunder made the ground rumble.
The train blasted away from them, a scream of excitement or terror –Twilight couldn’t tell— lingered in its wake as it sped off down the tracks.
“Are you really sure this is the best plan?” asked Applejack.
“No,” answered Twilight, watching the retreating end of the train rush away into the distance. “But we don’t have another option.” She gave Applejack, Luna and Spike one last glance, and a small smile, then took a half step closer to Fluttershy.
“How exactly do you think Pinkie intends to write to us everyday?” asked Fluttershy in confusion. “How is she going to know to write the correct address if we keep moving around?” However, instead of answering, Twilight’s horn blazed with magic. With a pop and a cry of distress, Twilight and Fluttershy vanished.
At last, only Spike, Luna and Applejack remained. They would be the only part of the group not traveling by some magical means, well, until they reached the edge of the Moon’s shadow.
Applejack turned and looked out across the vast landscape behind them. She could not see their destination from here.
“I guess we better get going too,” said Applejack. “We still have a long way to go.”
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Yay!! I'm loving this!!
Obligatory 'Luna has joined the party!' And really. Who doesn't like rocket trains? The only thing better than a rocket train would be a train that's drifting on multiple tracks.
AHEM!
Maybe Trixie and Rarity should have tried moving separate sets of axles independently, yet in the same speed and direction. That way their magic doesn't need to mix, and they'd still move the engine forward.
I am assuming Dash's element went up and so was affected by rotation and wind to land where it did.
Still does not explain the traps on all the elements.
Also I do not see why Luna needed to work in tandem with Trixie, she could have easily moved the train herself.
Hmm you know I expected Trixie to work just fine with Rarity I mean when she was around them all and teleporting she found her matic strengthened. So either the missing element is affecting her or she just needs to trust the others better. Hmm. It'd be awesome to see combo magic with trixie. :)
- that should be Brake
So, when do I come in? I mean, Celestia's statued (karma!) and the elements are scattered. What better time to break free from my prison than this? Oh, and also don't forget all the wonderful chaos this controversy with the sun and moon will cause!
2761113
That was Twilight's original plan but making things explode always works better...
2766489
Corrected, thank you very much.
2767519
Sorry, had to cut out the scene with Discord, just too much stuff already going on.
Either omitting "began" or substituting "sink in" for "hit her" would make that sentence work better. There may have been a few other hiccups, but that was last night and I didn't jot them down.
Anyway, the train shifting sequence reminded me of something another reader may have said awhile back: there's a lot of doing, but not much happening between the characters. Everything they do is more focused on problems solving, and they're even off on another mission after only two chapters in Canterlot. It makes sense of course, but it also leaves us without much character meat to chew on (is that the right metaphor?). But this doesn't make the story any less exciting, of course.
2761054 That's what I was thinking. Unless I missed something, Spike activated the map by himself.
This would certainly fit nicely with my headcanon regarding Celestia's plan for his destiny.
Blowing things up always works.
“Directly below the throne room, I’m sure of it,” whispered Twilight but more to herself than to Applejack. “Still… you’re right about Rainbow’s element. It doesn’t fit.”
-Rainbow has been having weird stuff happen to her all along...
With a sudden shock, Twilight awoke. Her name rang in her ears. Somepony had been shouting to her, calling for her, pleading with her. Somepony needed her. The distant words lingered even as the dream washed away. Twilight heard her name again, this time, it was much less dreamlike and also accompanied by a knock.
Twilight sat up in her bed.
-Rainbow calling for help? I wonder if that comes with an instinctive sense of direction and/or distance?
“While the Sun is not fully eclipsed, at least half of Equestria is covered in shadow.
-Ah, low enough altitude for the sun and moon that that sort of thing can... well, no, even RL ecllipses work that way, but mostly because the moon is too small compared to Sol and the Earth's moon.
“Oh my word! Twilight look!” cried Rarity. Twilight and Luna looked together at Rarity, who was pointing back at them. No, not at them, at the letter that Luna was holding and Twilight had pushed away. The parchment was glowing with magic, magic not from Luna.
-Hidden message appearing at the right time? Edit by a barely conscious Celestia using up valuable square inches on the only object she can use to communicate? Critical words masked by whatever started this mess? "Do not come to Canterlot UNTIL <and onwards>".
“You must be joking!” exclaimed Trixie. “What kind of chance do we have splitting up?”
-That will nerf their magic...