//------------------------------// // Book Four: Chapter Six // Story: Unity: A Tale of Arcadia // by Kieva Lynn //------------------------------// Book Four: Our Worlds At War Chapter Six Cloudsdale. Amidst a brief burst of magic and light the Element Bearers and Trollhunters appeared before the gates of the Weather Factory. They were already armored up and ready to fight, but things were calm at the factory itself. Not so much elsewhere in the floating city, explosions and other sounds of battle could be heard clearly echoing through the sky and smoke was rising from dozens of places. "This is so freaky." Claire said, stomping a foot down repeatedly on the solid to her clouds. "I know right!?" Toby agreed. "Can you imagine how comfy a bed this would make?" "Yeah yeah it's cool! Can we go fight the witch already!?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "Right! Dash, recon. Find out exactly where she's at." Twilight said. Rainbow Dash saluted and flew away at high speed. "Okay, so while she's doing that I think we need some kind of plan." Jim said. "Yep. How'r we gonna stand up 't someone as strong as Gandalf or Starswirl or Merlin?" Applejack asked. Twilight pondered this question. "Merlin sealed her away. And she stayed sealed for centuries. Maybe if we can wear her down some first the Elements will work, sealing her in stone like Discord. Getting her weak enough to not just move out of the way of the rainbow will be the trick." "I could try to hold her in place if she was weak enough." Jim said. "And get turned to stone yourself!?" Claire asked. "The Elements don't work that way darling." Rarity said. "They restore order to disorder. Dear James would be unharmed." "Well that changes things." Toby said. "But... Wearing down someone so strong without being worn down ourselves first..." Fluttershy whispered. "True." Twilight agreed. "What about her staff?" Claire asked. "Isn't it true that a lot of a wizard's power is in the staff? If we could break it, or even get it away from her..." Applejack said "We'd hafta be real sneaky like. Soon as she realized that's what we were after we'd never get another opening." Twilight nodded. "No, we wouldn't..." She eyed Claire. "But maybe I've got a plan... Everyone gather in." XXXXX While the others were plotting, Rainbow Dash flew high over the city. The first thing she saw, with surprise, was that there were no Changeling drones anywhere. Morgana had attacked on her own. "Confident?" Dash wondered, "Or just the enemy making it easy since it wants us to beat her?" She flew on, following an easily visible path of destruction that tore right through the heart of the city. Morgana wasn't bothering with homes; her assault was focused on the downtown area, businesses, industries, government buildings, all the places where there would be large crowds to threaten. A new explosion erupted several blocks away, and Dash made to head that way when she caught sight of a speck in the distance, arcing through the sky, thrown clear of the blast. A winged speck which, Dash could just make out, had an orange mane and was wearing a dark blue uniform. "That's a Wonderbolt!" She exclaimed, and flew to catch them. As Rainbow Dash got closer, she could see that she had been right. And more than right, this wasn't just a Wonderbolt, it was Spitfire. Dash zoomed in and carefully caught Spitfire in her hooves, then slowly descended to the cloud deck below. "Blurgh.... Dash...?" "Rest easy, I've got you." Dash said. "What happened?" "Some crazy sorceress... Are the Element Bearers here to help?" Spitfire asked. "You know it!" Rainbow Dash laid Spitfire down on the clouds, but the Wonderbolt was not one to lie down in a battle even when injured. She immediately rose shakily to her hooves. "Hay careful! You're in rough shape!" "If I die it's on my hooves or my wings. Be careful Rainbow Dash. This one, she's no joke." "Yeah I've heard. But we're ready. We'll beat this witch in ten seconds-" Rainbow Dash was cut off as Spitfire was suddenly right in her face, scowling. "Arrogance gets you killed! It has no place on the battlefield! Do your duty but do it smart! Understand!?" Falling flat on her rump, Rainbow could only say "Ma'am Yes Ma'am!" "Good." Spitfire allowed herself a small grin. "Now I'm finding whatever's left of my team. You get to work." She saluted and flew away on uncertain wobbly wings. Watching Spitfire fly away, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but consider two conflicting facts: First, that the Wonderbolts were indeed awesome and unbeatable. And second, that Spitfire had said 'What's left' of the team. Which implied... What it implied didn't bear consideration, especially since if it could happen to the Wonderbolts it could happen to anyone. Shaking her head to clear the unwanted thoughts, Rainbow Dash took wing and headed back to rejoin the others... XXXXX Unity. It was a calm beautiful day, the sky bright blue and cloudless. The temperature might have been a bit much, but a cool steady breeze made things perfect. Pretty much anyone who didn't have to be working was out, and those in the park were suddenly treated to a loud cheer of "Checkmate!" from one of the gazebos. Inside the gazebo were Varvatos Vex and the entire Crusader's membership, pony, human, and other, learning to play. "Now hold on! That's not... I could... Or maybe... Okay yeah Checkmate. Good game Scootaloo." Apple Bloom sighed. "Your game is off today Apple Pony." Varvatos said. "The orange one should never have beaten you." "Hay!" Scootaloo complained. "Varvatos Vex calls them as he sees them." Varvatos said to Scootaloo. To Apple Bloom he asked "Does something trouble you?" "Ah'm just worried about my sister and her friends off fighting." Varvatos nodded. "Concern for friends and family is important and honorable. But one must be cautious that said concerns do not ripen into distraction! Although, Varvatos must also say that he has heard much talk of your sister and her allies and they seem to be most worthy warriors. They will prevail!" "Yeah, I get it." Apple Bloom replied. "We are just kids you know." Micheal Riggs said. "And you are most fortunate to come from places where that matters!" Varvatos bellowed. "Far too many places there are where youth is no protection from mortal dangers!" "Well that's depressing." Dinky said. "But true." The group's Goblin member, Flixbix said. "Many young hurt or killed in wars." "But isn't that why we're learning this game? Because it helps you think strategically?" Scootaloo asked. "Indeed! When you have all mastered the basics of chess, Varvatos will teach you how to apply the lessons in real life situations!" "Then what are we waiting for?" Apple Bloom said, "Come on Scootaloo, let's set up for a rematch..." XXXXX In Cloudsdale, Morgana was raising havoc and having a grand time doing it. She had sent the Changeling drones away; for one thing she worked alone, and for another the shapeshifters reminded her of a certain treasonous Auf and she didn't want that memory ruining an otherwise perfect day. The only regret in her mind was that she couldn't bring on the endless night here. The sisters were too strongly bound to this world's sun and moon for her to have any effect in that regard. The sorceress had just finished demolishing an office building when a familiar voice rang out behind her. "That's enough Morgana!" "Well well. Lady Claire." Morgana turned to face her opponents. "And in armor of your own. But what have you done to my beautiful shadow staff?" "I traded up. Merlin and the other wizards destroyed that abomination." Claire answered. Morgana's eyes narrowed. "You destroyed my creation!? Then I will most certainly destroy you!" Everyone was forced to scatter as Morgana went on the offensive against them, blasts of powerful magic from her staff and fire from her free hand lashing out in all directions. "I am Morgana! Queen of the Eldritch Plain! Baba Yaga! The Pale Lady! You cannot stand against my power! I will trap you in the Shadow Realm and destroy this sugarbowl pony world! And when the time is right, I will destroy the one who fancies me his servant and I will rule!" "We'll see about that!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She used the armor's power to create a bow and started firing arrows. Her aim was good, but the projectiles merely bounced off of Morgana's own armor. Then Twilight made her move, teleporting in close to Morgana and trying to grab the staff from her hand. Morgana backhanded Twilight, sending her sprawling to the clouds. Before Morgana could attack Twilight again, Rarity was there, also trying to grab the staff while Jim and Toby attacked together as a distraction. Rarity was unable to get the staff, but Rainbow Dash made a high speed grab for it that nearly succeeded. Then Pinkie Pie was in the mix, appearing from over Morgana's right shoulder but having to duck back down as the ancient witch blasted fire at her. The melee continued, Morgana holding her own against the team, until nearly everyone was facing off against her from the north. And to the south waited Claire, ready to make her move. Twilight's plan was simple: Let Morgana see that Claire's weapon was no longer the shadow staff. Trick Morgana into thinking that the shadow staff had not been reforged in light but destroyed. Morgana was smart. She would know that they would make a play for her own staff, to deprive her of it's power. She would know that Twilight would try to teleport in to grab it, that Dash would try to nab it with a high speed pass. But thinking the shadow staff was gone, she would never see Claire still being able to teleport in to claim it. And now with Morgana focused on the rest of the team, Claire was on the move. She opened a portal and jumped through, reappearing just behind the sorceress. Reaching out with her free hand, Claire actually touched Morgana's staff was about to grab ahold, when Morgana spun around, grabbed Claire by the hand, and flipped her down onto the clouds on her back. "It was a good try." Morgana said, "But I made the shadow staff from a fragment of my own inner magic. Even turned against me as it is, I can still sense what was." Keeping her attention focused on the girl at her feet, she called out "Surrender or the girl dies!" "Too much attention on me." Claire said, "When I'm really not the one you should be looking at." Twilight's voice rang out from across the clouds, "Girls, Now!" Morgana looked up to see the Bearers floating in formation, eyes aglow, and didn't even have time to scream out the stereotypical "NOOOO" before the light of harmony enveloped her. Claire dragged herself to her feet as the glow faded. "Are you okay!?" Jim asked after running to her. "Yeah I'm fine. Never would have thought getting body slammed into clouds would hurt though." Toby and the Element Bearers joined Jim and Claire, and, after also confirming she was unhurt Rainbow Dash pointed to Morgana and asked "Okay, question... Shouldn't she be a stone statue now?" Morgana was on her knees on the clouds, head bowed, still flesh and blood but her staff had vanished, as had her armor, replaced with silk robes. "...Morgana?" Twilight asked hesitantly. The woman looked up, eyes filled with confusion. "Morgana? No, my name is Morgan la Fey, apprentice to the great wizard Merlinus Ambrosius." "What's going on...?" Toby asked. "Is it like with Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon?" Applejack suggested. "The elements turned her back to the good person she was a long time ago?" "I think maybe so." Twilight said. "Where am I?" Morgan asked, "And where is Master Merlin?" "That's... Kind of a long story." Jim said. Then Pinkie Pie suddenly said "O.o! Do you realize what this means!? We stopped one of the Keystone Generals without actually destroying them! The big meanie won't be able to escape!" Everyone began to cheer, but before they could celebrate too much, laughter tinkled across the sky, in an all too familiar voice. "Is that what you believe? Fate is preordained. You must do as my master wishes Morgan... You have no choice." "Who are you!? What is going on!?" Morgan exclaimed, and glowing spheres of magic formed around her hands. Twilight noted, in passing, that they were light magic, not dark. "Be careful Morgan. This thing is not to be trusted." Applejack said. Morgan gave her a curt nod. In the sky above, there was a sudden rippling, ans if the air were a fabric being pinched between fingers, and a portal opened. Through it dropped the still dead stone body of Gunmar the Black. The body somehow landed on the clouds rather than falling through, and the voice spoke again, "In you go Morgan... Or, better, Morgana..." Morgan suddenly screamed in fear and pain as she was, to all appearances, torn into two copies of herself. The physical copy collapsed unconscious while the spirit copy was pulled into the body of Gunmar. While remaining dead stone, Gunmar's eyes opened. They had the green glow of Morgana's eyes, and darted about in confusion, landing on Morgan, and then on Gunmar's body. "What have you done to me!?" Morgana roared. "Such anger..." The voice laughed, "I've merely helped you reach your full potential." "Return me to my body now!" "So sorry, but no. It is Morgan's body again, you cannot return. Now fight. Fight for the Quiet Darkness... And die..."