[Superlong] RwR Facts: Alucard is an Idiot! (a.k.a. "The Big One")

Screw it, y'all're gettin' it now.

BEWARE!
This entry contains MAJOR SPOILERS for those who have NOT read my main project "Rain without Rainbows."
Proceed at your own risk. I take no responsibility for your curiosity.

Image edited by Cyros Lugoth

Meet Alucard. The brilliant tactician who ruled Equestria for a day. The not-quite-cookie-cutter antagonist who made an enemy of Rainbow and company. The character around whom the entire conflict of Rain without Rainbows was centered.

Did you know he's an idiot?

No, really. He's a damn fool.

---

Let me ease you into this one. My co-author and assistant (that is, up through chapter fourteen and part of fifteen), Cyros Lugoth, provided the character, his major traits, and a lot of insight for Alucard, whose actual name is Yin. Using the basis of his own story, I provided Alucard with a major motivation for RwR, which ultimately led to the eclipse plot device and the entire method of his downfall. For those of you who have read the tale, you know much of this.

One of his biggest strengths is his ability to steal magic from his victims. This was introduced as the "Unknowable Divine" in chapter seven.

A field of navy magic sparked to life around Unknowable Divinations, and the book rose soundlessly. It floated near the lantern, where Luna stepped out of the shadows. The book opened with the rapid-fire fwishfwishfwish of the pages until she paused to look at one of them.

“Here,” she called, floating the text toward Twilight. “You can see it, can’t you?”

With a moment to hesitate, Twilight took the book into her own magic - the corona of navy faded to violet. She looked on the page, which had been earmarked sometime before. On the marked page was an artist’s rendering of one of the many ‘unknowable’ divines the author had encountered. The mere sight of it caused her heart to beat a little faster.

On the page, drawn in explicit detail, was a bulbous orb of dark magic. It floated barely a foot off the ground, and thin lines of white flowed down the mass in a mesmerizing dance. Behind the orb, a shadow of a unicorn was seen casting the magic, feeding a steady stream of power into it. Beneath the drawing, a caption had been written.

“‘Unidentified siphon spell,’” Twilight read. “‘Unidentified,’ huh. That doesn’t help us much.”

Of course, his telepathy (arguably an extension of this so-called divination) is a far greater trait and one he uses to great extent. However, it's this power that truly grants his plan any plausibility. Alucard's plan for Equestria is really just to give himself a test, a way to push his own limits in order to prepare for a much larger goal in his own country.

“My destiny,” he declared, standing over Rainbow’s prone form with a manic smile on his lips, “lies beyond your pathetic home. The only thing your land is to me is an annoyance, something that I intend to make an example of! All the world will see the smoldering ruins of Equestria, and they will know their king’s power! The world will know my power, and nopony - not even my proclaimed rulers - will stand against me!!!”

“Equestria is merely an example,” he said, his words like grinding bones. “A pawn in a grander game.”

Such facts were revealed in the climax chapter, number sixteen. His ultimate goal will involve his own homeland, but he knew the danger there already. So to test himself, he sent a portion of his soul - a talent considered by many to be unnatural - to Equestria, took control of one of his countrymen, and proceeded to enact his plan while the rest of him remained safe in another place.

Certainly complicated enough. But such was the way in which the story unfolded. Alucard needed to have this unbeatable plan. Even a way to ultimately survive should his attempts be bested. And for all intents and purposes, he completed his test the moment he beat Celestia. After all, what greater victory is there than stealing the sun? With the battle against Celestia won, he had proven his strength and cunning to himself. The battle against Rainbow, her friends, and the raw force of Harmony was just extra effort.

So yes. Alucard had crafted a plan around which he could not lose. With his talents, tactics, and tenacity, he stole the magic of Equestria as well as their sun and moon.

And in that, dear friends, lies the fatal flaw in his genius.

Consider the following:

“Why did you attack the princesses? Did you just want their magic?”

“More than that - you’re all examples, don’t forget,” Alucard said. “Taking their celestial spells was, of course, needed for my seizing of Equestria. What better way to learn than by the experience of others?"

She spotted Alucard as he turned for another rush. She fired off a dark blue lance of magic, which curved to meet him. He spun, sending one of his three miniature spheres to intercept Luna’s attack.

The two spells connected, and very suddenly, Luna’s spell was wrapped in dancing white lines that brought it to a halt. Then her spell faded- no, was absorbed into the lines, until nothing remained but the miniature sphere of telepathic magic.

Alucard hovered there for a moment as the sphere returned. When it reached his forehead, it melted and spread over his horn. He closed his eyes in satisfaction, as though savoring some morsel of food.

When he opened his eyes again, they were trained on Luna. “Thank you for that. Mind showing me how you would handle it?”

Alucard’s horn burst with magical energy, sending a copy of the lance of power Luna had fired at him.

Alucard began to talk, almost musing. “You know, it’s such a shame, using this spell. Being able to copy and steal magic from other ponies is such a useful talent, but it never leaves the pony as weak as it should."

He cried out, overpowering the magic in his horn, while at the same time flapping his wings forward. The result was a crackling wave of shield magic, the exact kind used by Twilight Sparkle against his dark orb seven days prior. But instead of stopping the arrows, the wave of magic passed over them, and they faded from existence before they touched his coat.

Thinking fast, he curled one wing in front of him, adding a layer of Luna’s shield spell. It was effective against Celestia’s attack, but the sheer force of the spell sent him careening down the hall and into a far wall.

Each piece of knowledge and every hidden secret found a place within him, and as soon as he registered something, he knew it as though he had experienced it himself. Spells, lies, memories, plans - he knew everything the sphere could hold, which was doubtless only a fraction of what Celestia’s mind could offer.

In every instance, I purposely avoided going into specifics about how this particular spell worked. It was just too complex, even for me. So instead the blanket answer is that the spell he uses would steal the magic that had been recently used by his victim. This is evidenced by his ability to call on Twilight's wave-shield magic, Luna's shell-shield and moon magic, and finally Celestia's sun magic. And that's not too bad. He reached their minds through the top and grabbed whatever was there, knowing that he would get the two spells he sought: the ones required to move the moon and sun.

Now, do you see the problem with that? It took me a while for the realization to dawn, and when it did, I spent a good hour cursing myself and pacing my room. It was not a pretty day.

Here's the issue. By the logic shown here, Alucard definitely had a spell in his arsenal that would have guaranteed him a victory during the fight against the Bearers of Harmony. It would have taken him mere seconds to cast, and the result would be instant and unavoidable defeat for the six friends.

Here are the remaining pieces of this puzzle:

...Alucard regained his focus and fired off a new spell. It flew through the air like a rippling rope, striking one of Celestia’s wings while her attention was diverted. The spell immediately changed, taking the form of a heavy chain, which wrapped around her wing and then latched onto the ground.

Celestia gazed on him hard for a moment, then moved quickly. She called on her magic, funneling it down to her forelegs. When enough had built up, she slammed both hooves on the ground, spreading her spell. The displaced magic hit the ground, rotated, and began to grow, sending waves of golden power swirling around her.

Every inch of her body was graced with the spell, including her captured wing. Her magic worked against the dark chain, disintegrating it link by link. The field of her spell expanded further, destroying the remaining links that were holding fast to the floor, then faded from view.

Rippling lines of white magic flew to him and struck him along his wings, legs, and neck. Upon contact, each set of lines transformed into magical ropes, which wrapped around him and tied themselves off on the floor. It was the same spell he had used to trap Celestia a few short minutes ago, albeit with a gentler appearance. Assuming, of course, a rope tied about his neck was a gentle image.

He uttered a strangled gasp of surprise. He didn’t struggle, already seeing that the ropes were pulled taut. In that instant, he knew why he had felt the sense of familiarity. Alucard moved his gaze from the ropes that held him down to the one who had cast them.

“I created that spell myself.”

One of the princesses, Luna (who still had magic), would cast the flight spell that Twilight had once used on Rarity. In theory, the alicorn’s magical prowess would be enough to give the four non-flight ponies the wings they would need.

See where I'm going with this?

•By the logic implied by Alucard's magic-stealing spell, he instantly masters the spells recently used by his victims. This goes back at least seven spells, as evidenced by Celestia's method of attack in chapter thirteen.
•Assuming the above is true, then Alucard also has the spell that Celestia used to free herself from his magical bindings. A shockwave-style spell that instantaneously dissolved his own magic, despite it being an original spell created by him.
•This means that Alucard has a spell that would instantly negate the magical wings given by Luna to Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity. If he had done so, those four would immediately plummet through the clouds and to the city, wherein Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy would have to choose between going after them or trying to fight Alucard on their own.
•Either choice would result in their defeat. By choosing to rescue their friends, the two pegasi would give up much-needed ground against Alucard. They'd be below the cloud layer, burdened by catching and carrying their friends, and beset by any magical lightning Alucard would send down. Worse still, they would never be able to save everyone - assuming Rainbow Dash managed a Sonic Rainboom at all, she would not be able to bring them back to the clouds. They'd have to wait in the city and be victimized by the lightning.
•If instead Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stayed above the clouds and doomed their friends to death, neither of them would be capable of defeating Alucard. Their only option was the use of the Elements of Harmony, since Alucard has already proven too powerful for conventional combat. If not, then Celestia would have beaten him. Alucard would easily overpower and kill the last two Bearers, then enact further destruction upon Canterlot.

These facts and theories prompt a very basic, very loud question.

WHY DID ALUCARD NOT USE THE SPELL HE STOLE FROM CELESTIA?!?

Answer: Because he's a damn fool.

---

I can only justify Alucard's ignorance by claiming arrogance. He didn't believe he'd need to pull any deus ex magicka in the form of Celestia's magic, so he simply used his own and what he had learned from Luna. He wasn't concerned with any of Celestia's spells save her sun magic, so he would not have paid attention to the rest. And when the time finally came when he was desperate, he resorted to defensive magic rather than offensive. The shock of the situation turning so horribly south was too much for him to think straight, to say nothing of the second consciousness trying to disrupt his casting.

Because he failed to truly take stock of his arsenal, he never realized that he had the single solution to his problem. The spell he stole from Celestia, which itself destroyed his binding magic, would have completely severed the magical wings granted to the unicorns and earth ponies. It's proven that the spell in question would work quickly, and it doubtless would be effective, since it dismantled his spell. His original spell. And if he had used this ill-gotten weapon, the battle would have ended in his victory.

Yet he didn't.

And now I can never appreciate him for the tactician I made him to be.

I likened Alucard to a chess grandmaster (thanks to a comment given by a good friend of mine), in that he planned his moves as well as his opponent's in order to secure territory, assets, and power. In his careful planning, he ensured the proper advantage would be his when the time came. He even let himself be kicked in the face. With little doubt, his movements and cunning were all in the interest of winning the war, even if it meant losing a battle. Which, as it turns out, he didn't.

However, there is still hope for him. With the idea of a sequel/spinoff, I hope to use this fatal flaw to make a more gripping narrative. I mean, come on - if this realization made me pace my house and curse my own blindness for an hour, then imagine how the character involved would react. And regardless of his idiocy, the larger picture remains: his goal is not in Equestria. He seeks a different glory in a different land, and as he stated multiple times, his actions in Equestria equated to nothing more than a test. A measure of his own abilities when he himself placed limits on them. And, as said earlier, that test was concluded when he beat Celestia.

Still makes me wonder how such a story would play out. Will he realize this flaw on his own, or have it revealed to him? Will he take it as a lesson, or a hit to his confidence? What other plot devices will reveal themselves with the planning and drafting, should they come? Regardless of what Alucard's future holds, I'm still shaken at his ignorance by arrogance.

Go home, Al, you're drunk on power.

~Leo