//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Plans, Plots, and Poltergeists // Story: Order-naries: Redux // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// If aircraft similar to the Lirin were known in Equestria, most ponies likely would agree that the ship the Order-naries had come in on was not going to win any beauty contests. Shaped like a giant wedge with wings stuck on near the aft end and only slightly smoothed for aerodynamics, its exterior looked like a patchwork of random metal sheets slapped on without any thought for coloration or pattern, and it didn’t even appear to have windows or any other means of observing the outside world from within. In fact, there were cameras embedded in various locations all over the ship which could feed data to a large screen in the cockpit, but one would need to look hard to find them. Seeing as the Lirin was the only thing of its kind in Equestria – so far – it was a source of great interest and wonderment to many of Ponyville’s residents, especially the colts and fillies. Thus Twilight was surprised, pleasantly, but surprised nonetheless, to see that its hatch stood open and yet it wasn’t playing host to the Cutie Mark Crusaders or any of their peers. As she walked up the ramp and poked her head inside, she discovered the reason why: somepony had set a strong but non-coercive “do not disturb” spell across the doorway designed to temporarily enhance a potential intruder’s respect for privacy. Seeing as Twilight had an actual purpose besides idle curiosity for crossing the threshold, the spell didn’t do much to deter her and its effects faded quickly. The interior of the Lirin was an improvement over the outside, in that it at least had a consistent and coherent theme of stark functionality. The main cabin she had entered obviously filled the role of passenger seating, although a few of the seats along the starboard wall had apparently been converted into a makeshift bed. Gale, alerted by the sound of Twilight’s hooves on the floor, poked her head out of the cargo area in the aft, and Ash and the twins, likewise alerted, emerged from the cockpit. “Twilight,” Ash said with a smile, “good to see you, friend. Come on in, take a seat, tell us why you’re suddenly an alicorn.” Twilight couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I missed you guys,” she said, and then sobered. “I’ll tell you that story in a little bit, but we do have some important business to deal with. Where’s the Diamond?” “Storage,” Gale answered simply. “Why?” “The other… yous are pretty insistent on having it in their own possession,” Twilight said. “They also claim they can use its power to speed up their healing so they can be released from the hospital today.” “That doesn’t make much sense,” Ash said, bemused. “The Diamond’s element is Light. If you use healing magic, the primary element is most likely to be Aether, or maybe a mixture of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.” “Maybe it works differently where they’re from,” Soul suggested. “Possibly, but I find that hard to swallow,” Ash said. “So that’s a no,” Twilight said, sounding as if she agreed. “Next order of business then,” she continued seriously, “do you have a plan for finding the other Gems?” “Yep,” Gold Heart said. “The only real difference between last time and this one is we know exactly what to do with them once we’ve got them: dump them at Tau’rin’s feet and break one over his thick skull.” “Thus either stranding our duplicates here in Equestria to cause untold amounts of unintentional mistaken-identity problems,” Soul Mage pointed out dispassionately, “or requiring us to find a way to give them a ride back to their home universe without getting lost on the multiversal superhighway.” “So, you’d rather just let Tau’rin punch a miles-wide hole in the countryside and send them all on their way?” Heart asked pointedly. “Only if that’s the least distasteful option,” Soul countered with a casual shrug. “So you’re still discussing it,” Twilight said conclusively. “That’s in the long-term though; what about the short-term?” “Meaning, do we have any leads?” Ash asked. “PC’s still downloading the data he needs to scan for the Gems,” he answered in the next breath. “I don’t see much reason to rush anyway. We’ve got the Diamond in hand, which means we’re already fated to encounter the old demon sooner or later, so unless he starts hurting innocents in his own search for the Gems, he’s not a high priority. Besides, we came here to take a break from the whole ‘saving the world’ business, and I intend to spend what remains of today, at the minimum, in recreation, if you don’t mind.” “I don’t have any objections,” Twilight said graciously. “Great,” Ash said. “Now, will you please tell us where you got those wings?” A few hours later, the Order-naries and the Element Bearers met for dinner at one of Ponyville’s restaurants. By mutual consent, they tried to steer their conversation away from the Chaotic Gems, the alternate Order-naries, and the looming need to deal with them. However, that particular proverbial pachyderm on the premises proved too ponderous and provocative to avoid for long. Acknowledging the inevitable, but still wanting to provide a possible escape, Gold Heart took a roundabout approach to the topics. “What about are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?” she asked her fellows. “The Lirin’s not exactly set up for pony comfort.” “I have a room to spare,” Rarity volunteered instantly, with a significant look at Ash. “Your eyes seem to be suggesting something others could easily misinterpret, milady,” Ash said. “Ah, oh dear,” Rarity blushed, “I keep forgetting myself today, don’t I?” “I’ll take that room, if it’s ok,” Gale said. “For the time being at least,” she added slyly. Ash glared warningly at her. “I can pull out my guest bed,” Twilight said. “It can sleep two, so I can take in Heart and Soul.” “Works for me,” Soul Mage said. “I’ll sleep in my ship,” Ash said. “Somepony needs to be there to guard the Diamond anyway.” Heart frowned at that but didn’t protest, knowing the argument was valid. “What about the other Order-naries?” Fluttershy asked. “They’ll be out of the hospital tomorrow after all; they’ll need a place to stay.” “Mah cattle barn happens to be empty,” Applejack said. “If we’re really gonna do the Chaotic Gem thing again, might as well give that lot as similar an experience as y’all had, right?” she added with a smirk. “Well, it did go rather smoothly for us, compared to our experiences in other worlds,” Ash said approvingly. “Except for the part where Rarity’s house got destroyed and Spike turned to stone because he took a bite out of the Emerald,” Dash said. “Or when Ash got himself banned from Cloudsdale for life for stealing the Topaz in broad daylight,” Gale put in. “That was totally worth it and you’ll never convince me otherwise,” Ash said with pride. “And in our plans, let’s not forget the three newcomers,” he added soberly. “First thing we do once they’re out of the hospital is earn their trust, so we aren’t working at cross-purposes with them. From there, each Gem in its turn.” “And you’ll have the Elements of Harmony behind you,” Twilight Sparkle said, reaching a hoof out to the center of the table. One by one, the others extended their own hooves, forming a growing circle of unity. “No, please, you’re too kind, but Trixie can’t possibly eat another bite!” Trixie, indeed showing signs of being stuffed, backed into her wagon with a covered basket floating beside her and shut the door on the latest of her well-wishers with gentle finality. “Whew,” she said, turning around, a look of great pleasure on her face, “Trixie could get used to this hero business!” “I hope Trixie hasn’t forgotten her loyal yet starving assistants,” Harlequin said dryly, eyeing the basket with clear greed. Trixie rolled her eyes and set the basket on the floor, whisking the cover off to reveal an assortment of pastries. “You have eaten as well as the rest of us today, Quin,” she said, “unless food goes somewhere other than your greedy gut after you swallow it.” The earth pony acrobat smiled cheekily and helped himself to a couple of bear claws. “Cabbage Patch?” Trixie called out, looking around for the little impressionist, “Where are you?” “Over here,” Cabbage said tiredly, poking her head out a nest of ribbons she’d made in a corner. “I just wanted to make sure you know how proud and impressed I am with you,” Trixie said. “I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to hold that buffalo form, even if it was only for a minute or two.” “Nah, it’s easy to stay in a chosen shape,” Cabbage said, stifling a yawn. “It’s the transforming itself that’s difficult for me. I’m really glad you managed to win, Trixie; Tremolo seemed to be down to his last marble, and it was frightening.” “I couldn’t have done it without you,” Trixie said, shoving the pastry basket across the floor toward Cabbage. “Help yourself,” she insisted, “You deserve as much praise as I do.” Cabbage smiled in gratitude, took a pastry, and curled back up into her nest. “Well then,” Barnacle Salt said, searching through the basket for himself, “now that Hoofington’s finished being rightly grateful, what should our next stop be?” He looked to the troupe’s accountant and planner, Maggie Pie, but Trixie answered first. “Ponyville,” she said. “Twilight Sparkle wanted me to give the Alicorn Amulet to her myself in exchange for the advice she gave me. We won’t be putting on any shows there, and we’ll leave as soon as I hoof over the amulet, so maybe we’ll avoid the curse for once.” “There’s no curse Trixie,” Maggie Pie said with the air of reviving an old, tired argument. “Bad things happen to me in that town,” Trixie said insistently, “Every. Single. Time.” Outside, Tremolo crouched in the lengthening evening shadow of a building down the road but still in sight of Trixie’s wagon. The ponies of Hoofington hadn’t arrested him or run him out of town for his actions under the influence of the Alicorn Amulet, but neither had they extended a hoof of forgiveness and help. The town seemed to have come to a silent agreement just to ignore the red unicorn stallion and hope he’d go away. In most circumstances, he would have left to nurse his wounded pride and try to guess Trixie’s next move if he couldn’t simply follow the troupe from a distance. Something kept him here though, a feeling that he couldn’t quite identify, or refused to acknowledge. He simply couldn’t accept the evidence of his own eyes. Trixie had ruined his life, humiliating him when he’d first tried to disprove her claim of “anything you can do, I can do better,” and then when her lies finally caught up to her had refused to roll over and accept it as her just due. Rather, she had rebounded, charming most of her victims into forgetting about her crimes and then climbing to even greater heights than ever before. She had a royal patronage now, blazoned on the side of her wagon for all to see, which she had just proven all too eager to hide behind to escape Tremolo at last. “Rest easy Trixie,” he growled to himself, “but I’ll get you, somehow.” “Plotting revenge, are we?” a voice said. Tremolo jumped and looked around, but didn’t see anyone nearby. “A man after my own heart, so to speak.” “Who are you?” Tremolo demanded. “Come out where I can see you!” “Now, now, I don’t mean you any harm,” the disembodied voice said charmingly. “In fact, I might be able to help you get your revenge.” “How?” Tremolo asked disparagingly. “Trixie is under the protection of Princess Luna herself.” “If the law is your problem, then you will need a power that is beyond law,” the voice coaxed. A line of light, colored red, yellow, blue, and green, appeared on the ground before Tremolo, leading to somewhere outside of Hoofington. “What will this cost me?” Tremolo asked without moving. “Nothing much, really,” the voice said, starting to fade as if the source was moving away. “You simply have to help me get some revenge of my own.” “Hmph, deal,” Tremolo said, and set off to follow the line. He put Hoofington behind him, and nopony seemed to notice or care. Evening was falling, and Ashen Blaze was making his way back to the Lirin in relatively high spirits. As much as he had spoken out to claim some of the vacation he’d come to Equestria for, and had legitimately enjoyed the peaceful sights he had indulged in, he was at heart a soldier who craved the thrill of adventure and outwitting enemies, all in the name of preserving peace and order of course. He hummed tunelessly while focusing pulses of magic energy into and around his horn, refamiliarizing himself with the feel of Equestria’s latent magic flowing into his body, being redirected through the intricately woven matrix of gemstones around his neck to build in strength and attract more magic, and then resuming the trip to the natural focal point every unicorn had on their forehead. Ash was an expert in bending the energy into new and innovative forms on the spot, but his specialty involved using dormant energy outside of himself whereas unicorn magic required channeling internally stored energy. Ash’s capacity to store magic energy was equal to that of an average, non-scholarly unicorn, and less than a lot of his spells required, necessitating his use of the gemstone necklace he’d dubbed the Artificial Element of Magic. The town square was empty, as the townsfolk were, for the most part, at home preparing for bed, and even the most ardent gawkers the Lirin had attracted throughout the day had long since grown bored with its lack of doing anything interesting since it had landed. The ship was a silent, dark shape in the growing moonlight, a familiar, reliable constant in Ash’s mind that linked all the epochs of his life. He approached it, but before he could speak the passcode the hatch began to open on its own. “Skvetch,” he swore, startled. “Confound it PC,” he yelled into the opening ship, “you know I hate it when you predict my commands!” “This is not my doing, sirrah,” the computer responded, “or the ship’s for that matter. Something has activated the manual override for the hatch but…” It continued droning on about not registering an intruder and possible sensor malfunctions, but Ash stopped paying attention when the hatch was about halfway down and the Diamond came floating out of the ship without any visible means of support, not even the aura of unicorn levitation magic. “What in the…?” Ash stared, dumbfounded for a second before his instincts kicked in and he leaped into action. He wrapped the Diamond in his magic grip and tugged, and after only the briefest moment of resistance it responded, flying toward him and orbiting his head twice before coming to a stop. “Now, what is your-” he started to ask the Gem, but then something started trying to pull it away from him. Ash took a tighter grip and a firmer, challenging stance. “Reveal yourself, whatever you are,” he ordered in a low tone. His eyes searched frantically for any signs of spells or unusual disturbances in the threads of magic in the square, but he saw nothing but the ripples of his own magic and the abundance of Light energy flowing in and around the contested Diamond. Whatever was fighting him was truly, impossibly, invisible, but it didn’t seem to have any capabilities besides pulling against his strength. That changed when Ash suddenly felt a sharp pain in the side of his head, as if he’d been punched by a fist that had simply ignored the existence of skin and bones for a couple of inches before connecting. He was sent rolling as if he had been punched as well, and his concentration broke as he hit the ground, releasing the Diamond fully into the invisible thief’s control. The Gem started floating away rapidly as Ash struggled to clear his vision and regain his focus. “Ok,” he groaned, “that… haven’t felt that kind of attack in a while but… Spirit!” He surged to his hooves and charged after the Diamond, running past it as he made another magical grab for it and snatched it out of the invisible thief’s hands. He whipped it back and forth a couple of times just to make sure he’d dislodged his opponent, and then pinned it to the ground with a hoof. “I wasn’t aware that Equestria could harbor free spirits,” he said, “so I can’t help but wonder what you are and where you came from. Know this though: I can’t fight you directly, but I will not let you take this Diamond. Its power is too great for me to trust it in the hands or hooves of any unknown entity. Defy me, and I will follow you tirelessly back to whatever sent you and end them, if I deem it necessary, to protect this world. I am Ashen Blaze, and I always keep my word.” For a long while, silence was the only answer to Ash’s challenge, and he started to think the spirit had fled, or at least given up. With a satisfied snort, he levitated the Diamond and started back to the Lirin. He’d only gone a few steps, however, when a cold wind picked up and swirled around him. Ash pulled the Gem in close to his chest and looked around warily, and then within the wind he heard a faint voice, gruff and resigned. “I should have guessed,” it seemed to say. “You’re just as crazy as you look.” “Excuse me?” Ash asked, insulted. “Explain yourself!” The wind vanished as quickly as it had come, and there were no further answers. The spirit had actually departed this time, and the night was perfectly still and quiet. “Skvetchte ghosts,” Ash grumbled as he walked up and into his ship. “PC, memo: tell the twins to keep an eye out. Something spectral may have taken an interest in the Gems.”