//------------------------------// // Book Five: Chapter Four // Story: Unity: A Tale of Arcadia // by Kieva Lynn //------------------------------// Book Five: Third Law Acendent Chapter Four XXXXX When the attack had begun, absolutely everyone in town had either taken up arms and joined in the fighting, or else hurried to one of the deep shelters prepared for just this occasion. Thus, no one was in the Golden Oaks Library when the dark orbs had converged on Twilight. No one was in the old Fallow Meadows library either, or in any of the many homes across town, no one was present when, all at once, every copy of Tolkien's work, every copy of Starswirl's writings, every book and scroll that carried the mysterious magical current, suddenly surged with power. A pulse of magic went out from the tomes, felt by Gandalf and the other wizards, as well as some of the Elves and Unicorns, though they knew not what it meant. And Twilight Sparkle vanished as the orbs converged on her and collided. At the precise moment when the magical wave also intersected her position... "What!?" Twilight sat up in a bolt, frantically looking around, unsure of where she was. If she was really anywhere, all the unicorn could see was a faintly glowing mist. She looked down, and gasped at the sight that she was, apparently, standing on thin air. "Where...?" Curious, knowing that she needed information, Twilight picked a direction and started walking. But even after several minutes she found nothing new. There was just the same mist, billowing all around her. It was thicker, then thinner, blowing about in unpredictable eddies. The mysterious white glow remained a constant, suggesting that it came from somewhere beyond the mist. The most curious thing, though, was that the air wasn't cold or damp as one would expect in a fog. The temperature and humidity were quite comfortable, not unlike a perfect summer day. "I should be dead..." Twilight thought. Then her eyes went wide with a new realization: "Maybe I am!" But no, this didn't look like either Pony or Human ideas of Paradise. And besides that... "OW!!" Twilight swore after pinching herself. She continued to wander about for several more minutes, learning nothing else new and finding only the same persistent mist. Finally, she decided it was time to see if there was anyone else in earshot. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She called out. In the mist, just out of sight, something moved. A pattern of light and darkness, indistinct through the billowing fog. "I am here." A voice spoke. A voice that Twilight knew she had heard before, though she could not place where. "Hello!? Who are you?" The form drew closer, mist parting around it, and into view came a being that took Twilight's breath away. It was an Alicorn, female, but much larger than Celestia or Luna and glowing like the sun, a pure, radiant, even holy light. Kindness and wisdom was in the apparition's eyes, and Twilight knew at once into whose presence she had come: "Queen Faust..." She whispered, and the Alicorn smiled... XXXXX Arcadia. Even with the presence of Aja, Krel, and the Doctor, the Foo Foos were gradually gaining ground, pushing the town's defenders back. The rabbit-like bounty hunters were tough as nails, and highly skilled in their combat techniques. Ophelia Nunez had given the retreat command, but it can be hard to retreat when your enemy is right on top of you, continuing to press the attack, forcing you to hold your ground or be destroyed. So while the townsfolk fought, the Doctor ducked into Stuart's shop. "Come on Stewy I know you're hiding in here somewhere!" "Yes, and I'll thank you to not draw attention to me!" Stuart answered from behind the counter. "Calm down, I just need some parts. I have an idea." The Doctor trotted about the shop, gathering what he needed. "Do you have any kyber crystals?" "Top shelf on the left, very back!" Stuart's voice came from his hiding place. "Good, good, and what about-" "Magnetic railgun?" Stuart preempted the question, "In the back store room. Are you doing what I think you're doing?" "Someone has to. I could use some help you know." Stuart rose from behind the counter. "Oh alright. I'll grab the mag gun. But you know this will take us some time to get right. I hope the people out there can keep the Foo Foos occupied long enough." "Oh don't worry. Help should be incoming right about now..." Outside, Ophelia and Barbara Lake gave a yell as something very large and heavy crashed to the ground right behind them. Aja, seeing the impact, quickly struck a crippling blow on her current opponent and then rushed to their side, looking down at... "Varvatos!? What happened!?" "Varvatos Vex was gloriously cast away by a most worthy foe!" The giant alien exclaimed. Ever a doctor, Barbara was kneeling at Varvatos side. "That was a nasty fall! Are you injured? Is there anything I can do?" "Varvatos thanks you for your concern, but he is not critically damaged. He must return to Unity and re-engage the true enemy at once!" "That might be a problem..." Aja said as she helped Varvatos to his feet. "You see..." She motioned to the ongoing battle. Varvatos looked all about, at the pitched battle and the many, many bounty hunters assailing the town. And, perhaps it was the blow to his head when he landed, or perhaps it was his growing interest in human music since arriving, but whatever the cause his next words left everyone in earshot face-palming: "Everybody is Foo-Foo fighting!!!" "Dude! You did not just say that!" Someone shouted back. "Varvatos Vex says what he means! But in way of apology, he will remain and assist you in removing this infestation of rapidly multiplying vermin!" And with that he leapt into the fray, and the tide of battle began to stabilize. Then with a roar the door of Stewart's shop burst open, and the Doctor emerged, Stewart trying his best to hide behind him which wasn't easy considering he was far larger than the Doctor. "Alright lads!" The Doctor called out to the Foo-Foo's, "Let's see how you like my new Kyber Cannon, eh?" The Foo Foo exchanged wary glances with each other. "Kyber... Cannon?" "Oh yes indeed! Stewart? Fire!" Stewart slammed a fist down hard on the rear portion of the device, and what happened next would be the talk of Arcadia for weeks to come: The railgum powered up and started firing, one crystal after another. Each crystal struck one of the Foo Foos, then exploded in a shower of light that, like a technological version of a chain lightning spell, took out even more of the bounty hunters. Unfortunately, Stewart's supply of the crystals was limited, but by the time it was over nearly three quarters of the Foo Foos were no longer a concern. "Excellent!" Varvatos bellowed. "Now the battle is even!" Foo Foo the Ambivalent took a step back. "Uh-oh, I think..." XXXXX "Queen Faust!" Twilight gasped again, "I really am dead!" The Alicorn chuckled. "Fear not, Daughter of Eqqus. You are not dead, thanks to my intervention. And do not call me 'Queen.' I have not been you monarch for long ages. I am but an Oyarsa, a servant of the Maker, and I am pleased to do my work." "But... What... How...?" "All your questions will be answered. But we have little time, even here. Walk with me." Faust turned and walked away, and after another moment of sputtering confusion Twilight rushed to catch up. "So... Where is here anyway? And, not that I'm ungrateful for the save, but how did you know I was in trouble?" Twilight asked. "Excellent questions. Tia chooses her students well. To answer your first question, we are in a place called the Bleed. It is, in essence, the empty white space in between realities. My job is here, keeping watch over anything that passes from one world to another." "But how are we alive? The Bleed is fatal to all life nothing can live here. And if you watch the traffic why didn't you stop the Darkness?" "I can survive here because I am more than merely alive. And I am protecting you with my power. As for stopping the Darkness, I monitor and give warnings. Little more is allowed, for the sake of free will." Faust replied. "But as for your other earlier question, You have of course noticed the magical current in certain Maiar-related texts... I put it there. At base, it's a simple scrying spell for observing the area around each book. Though, as you've no doubt surmised from it bringing you here, it has certain... advanced... functions as well." "I don't get the free will thing..." Twilight admitted. Faust stopped walking and turned to face her. "Love is one of the greatest goods in the universe. But genuine love cannot be forced. It must be a free choice. So, sapient beings were given the potential for free will, so they would be able to choose love. Sadly, the potential in and of itself is also not enough. The potential must be made real. And a big part of that is leaving the consequences, good and bad, intact, since to prevent to results of free will choice is to make that choice an illusion, or worse, a cruel meaningless joke." "...Which means you have to let us deal with evil ourselves." "Usually. A little help here and there is permitted. And in the end, when the purpose of this world is fulfilled, things will change. But for now, yes." "Okay, I'm following... But, still, why did you bring me here? I need to be helping my friends!" "'A little help here and there is permitted.'" Faust quoted herself, "And I'm preparing to push the very limits of what I can do. But first we need to get that stain out of your head." Twilight cocked her head in confusion. "Huh? You don't mean... No! Gandalf helped me we got rid of the doubt! I'm free of it now, I'm okay!" "Nay, Twilight Sparkle, you most certainly are not. Remember what you said to Gandalf just minutes before I bought you here." "I was... Babbling about how we couldn't win..." "Yes." "I, but I... I need to help my friends! What do we do?" Twilight was on the verge of panicking. "We need only this." Faust said as her horn began to glow, "Light drives out Darkness." She touched the tip of her horn to the top of Twilight's head. For a few moments, nothing happened, and then a blackness surged out of Twilight, exiting through her eyes, and screaming as it faded away in the light. "How do you feel, child?" "Like myself. I hadn't even noticed..." "Those affected rarely do." "So I go back now?" "You do indeed, and with what measure of power I am permitted to give you to help things along. But listen carefully Twilight Sparkle: Even the power I grant will not, in itself, be enough to overcome the Darkness through brute force. The enemy has unwittingly given itself a weakness, one you already know how to exploit. Figure it out. Use it. And victory will be yours." "But, wait a moment!" Twilight said, "Victory against the Darkness, but it's armies are huge! What about them?" "Fear not. There's never ontological inertia in these cases. Defeat the Darkness and the army will fall. But now you must hurry. Good luck, Daughter of Eqqus, may His light shine on you..." And Twilight's world went white as Faust touched her horn to horn... XXXXX Unity. With everyone frozen in place, it all looked to be over. The Darkness was strutting about in Chrysalis' body, gloating over it's win, while Orcs and Gumm-Gumms gathered everyone found immobile on the surface and carried them to the park, and others sought out the entrances to the hidden underground shelters. "You won't get away with this!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We will beat you!" "How...?" The Darkness taunted. "You cannot even move." "There's always a way!" Applejack said. "Oh really? Is there anyone left free? Anyone left able to move, to free you? Is there anyone who can-" The taunt was cut short when a bomb slammed into the side of the Darkness head just as the fuse burned down and it exploded. "There is indeed one left free!" Everyone looked to see Merlin, standing on the roof of a nearby building. "A great many free, in point of fact..." And as he spoke Goblins and Pixies from the nearby towns surged to the attack. The Darkness distracted, Morgan slipped in and began freeing those who were bound. Soon everyone was free, and again scattered to cover, harassing the Darkness and it's minions while waiting for an opening to do some real damage. Pinkie Pie was hidden behind a large pile of rubble, taking shots with a crossbow made from her armor's magic. It was actually her third pile in the last five minutes; every time the one she was behind got destroyed, she appeared behind another. To her surprise, Rarity and Claire had been behind this one when she arrived. "I hope the opening Gandalf talked about comes soon." Claire whispered. "We can't keep this up for long." "Indeed not darling." "Don't worry!" Pinkie said, "Aaaaaaaany time now..." "Just lay down and die!" The Darkness roared. "I will tolerate your resistance no longer!!" And with those words, it used the shape changing powers of Chrysalis' body, growing larger, longer, with bigger fangs, the legs melting into the body, as the Darkness transformed... ...Into a giant snake. And Pinkie Pie smiled. "There it is girls." She said. "Evil Overlord List rule thirty-four just got broken. Which means that at any moment..." A bolt of blindingly bright lightning lanced down from the clouds, striking ground less than a hundred feet in front of the Darkness. The flash faded, and there stood Twilight Sparkle. "Get away from my friends." Twilight barely more than whispered, but was clearly heard all across the park. She stood firm in a defiant stance, legs wide, head held high, glowing horn aimed directly at the evil being, and spreading her new wings wide. "This. Ends. Now..."