“I don’t think I have ever been so frustrated in my life!”
“Would you give it a rest already Traev?” Carrie Chen groaned irritably. “It’s not like this is the first time you’ve been without your magic.”
“That’s not,” Traev started to snap, but then paused and amended, “entirely the issue. We’re all trapped here, powerless, while some cocky band of locals are out there playing with powers they can’t possibly comprehend.”
“I don’t think you’re giving them enough credit, boss,” Johnten Drago said. “I mean, the one that looks like you did tell us our own story, and-” He stopped short as Doctor Stable walked into the room, smiling pleasantly.
Traev was not willing to be fooled by the pony’s positive bedside manner, and he countered that smile with a sullen glare. “Well doc,” he deadpanned, “what’s the prognosis? Are we terminal now?”
“As a matter of fact,” Doctor Stable said with professional courtesy, “you are all free to go, provided you can reach the door without falling over.” He gathered the charts off the ends of the bed, stood off to one side, leveled a warning look at Traev, and added, “Do try to remember that this is a hospital, and don’t go charging through the halls, ok?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Traev grumbled, throwing the sheets off and very carefully easing himself onto the floor. He looked at his teammates, who had also cautiously gotten to their hooves, and then walked to the door with a mind to avoid any embarrassing stumbling, giving the doctor a defiant look until he exited the room. The doctor hid a smirk, glad to have these particular patients out of his mane at last but too professional to show it.
“Finally,” Traev said, walking right past the nurses waiting with wheelchairs in the hallway, “freedom. Step lively mon amis, we have a lot of lost time to make up for.” The trio made their way to the main entrance, walked out into the morning sunlight, and found themselves almost immediately surrounded by Gold Heart, Soul Mage, Gale, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. “Ah, skvetch,” Traev swore.
“Sounds like somepony woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Pinkie said cheerily. “I bet it’s because you haven’t had a good breakfast yet. Well, I can fix that right up, courtesy of Applejack.” She went to each former patient in turn, pulling a big red apple out of the pannier she was wearing and putting it in their mouth. “Enjoy!” she said. The three exchanged a look, and then bit down, their eyes going wide with surprise at the flavor. “Good, huh?” Pinkie asked. “AJ’s apples are the absolute best apples you’ll ever taste. There’s more if you want, but,” she removed the pannier and passed it to Gold Heart, and then bounced away, calling back, “I have to go schedule your party now, so see you later!”
Johnten Drago finished his apple quickly and then asked, “What party?”
“Your ‘welcome’ party, of course,” Rainbow Dash said.
“We don’t have time to waste on frivolous partying,” Traev said, trying to walk away, but the Order-naries blocked his path with “tsk”-ing expressions on their faces.
“Ponyville Rule number one,” Gold Heart said, “if you’re new to town and Pinkie Pie has just met you, she will throw a party to welcome you.”
“Rule number two,” Soul Mage continued, “if you are Pinkie Pie’s friend, she will throw parties to commemorate your birthday, anniversaries, recent accomplishments, surviving mortal danger, and any other reason that may occur to her.”
“Rule number three,” Gale contributed, “if you have been in Ponyville for any significant length of time, you will be considered one of Pinkie Pie’s friends.”
“Look, you,” Traev said angrily, “I have had just about enough of your treating us like some simple, ignorant newcomers. This is not game.”
“No, it isn’t,” Soul answered with dead seriousness, looking the ash-grey unicorn square in the eye. “I don’t know how you’re used to things working, Mr. Traev Maestro Brogalio, but in this world, and especially in this town, nothing important goes down without the powers that be at least being made aware of it. Even now, Twilight Sparkle is sending a letter to Princess Celestia informing her about you and what we know about your quest. We can count on some help from that quarter, and you can certainly count on us to lend you every resource we can spare to help you.”
Traev had hardened his glare when Soul locked eyes with him, but as the golden-yellow unicorn continued to hold his gaze and speak clearly and confidently his composure broke and he backed away a few steps in fear. “H-how…” he stammered. “My eyes. You…”
Soul smirked. “So, you did have that fear-gaze trick too,” he said. “Five points for Ash. That doesn’t work with pony physiology, so just forget about relying on it while you’re here.”
“And how is it that you know this?” Carrie Chen asked, genuinely curious.
“You haven’t realized it yet?” Gale asked, quirking an eyebrow. “We, that is, Heart, Soul, Ash, and I, are human as well. We know, or can at least make very educated guesses, about how to get you three accustomed to your new forms so that you don’t become a meal for the next predator that stands between you and a Gem.” She held out a hoof invitingly. “Let us help you.”
Traev looked reluctant, but when his companions both stepped up with accepting nods, he sighed and nodded as well. “Make this worth my while,” he said.
Twilight had roped off an area near the library and was standing guard with Ash and Spike for company. The ash-grey unicorn was casually balancing the Diamond of Light on a hoof. “Do you think they’ll actually come?” Twilight asked.
“It’s simply a question of when,” Ash said confidently. “I had the same stubborn, untrusting, go-it-alone attitude my double seems to have way back in the day, and I still found myself forming a team with the twins and Gale. Those kids could talk a dragon into giving part of its hoard to them if they had a mind to.”
“Want to bet?” Spike asked.
“Sure,” Ash said with a shrug. “Fifty bits to a gemstone-encrusted entrée of your choice. Sound good?” He flipped the Diamond onto his back and held out his hoof to shake.
“Yeah, sounds good,” Spike said, shaking on it.
“Seriously, you two?” Twilight said, looking disapprovingly at Spike.
“Hey, it’s just some harmless fun Twi,” Spike said defensively. Rarity came trotting up the lane just then, wearing a pretty burgundy gown accented by a necklace comprised primarily of small gemstones held together by gold and copper wire, and Spike’s attention was immediately arrested. “Wow, Rarity,” he said dreamily, “You look good.”
“What, this old thing?” Rarity said, dismissively. “Thank you Spike, but I’m afraid it’s a bit out of date. The only reason I’m wearing it is because it’s the only thing I’ve made that comes close to going with these.” She removed her necklace and pulled another, less well-made one from somewhere within the folds of the gown and floated them both to Ash. “There you are Ash,” Rarity said, “I brought both the original and the updated model, just in case one of them is too aligned to you for anypony else to use.”
“Thank you, Rarity,” Ash said, taking the necklaces and looking them over. The necklaces were the prototype of Ash’s magic enhancing necklace and the aesthetic “upgrade” Rarity had insisted on making immediately after the design had proven feasible. “To be honest, I’m surprised you kept these,” Ash said. Rarity looked surprised at his words, and then slightly dejected. “Oh,” Ash said, catching the cues, “I see. Mementos of us.”
“I hope you don’t mind,” Rarity said, nervously.
“I don’t,” Ash said, suddenly feeling awkward. He started shifting about as if debating whether or not to say more, or give the white unicorn a hug or other gesture of kindness, until he caught sight of something down the road. “Ah,” he said, relieved at the chance to change the subject, “and here come our students now.”
Watching the alternate Order-naries walk alongside their doubles provided Ash and Twilight an opportunity to observe and identify the subtle differences between the two groups. Soul Mage naturally gravitated toward his sister, walking perfectly in step with her, and the twins had their heads slightly inclined toward one another, as if to always keep each other in their peripheral vision. Johnten Drago seemed to lag a step behind whoever was nearest him, glancing about in arbitrary directions from time to time and casting an envious look at his double at least once. Gale walked with absolute confidence in every step, and with a grace that hinted at her untapped potential to be a dancer or gymnast rather than the mechanic she was. Her double, Carrie Chen, had none of that grace and an overabundance of suspicion in the way she walked and took in the sights of Ponyville. Traev was a little harder to read, since Ash wasn’t walking beside him, but Twilight noted a hardness in the newcomer’s face which Ash also possessed but usually hid behind a softer mask of trustworthy confidence.
As the group approached, Ash ducked into the roped-off area and stood in the center with the Diamond held under one hoof. “We all know why we’re here,” he announced, “so I’ll cut to the chase. If you want this Diamond, and a chance to seek out the rest of the set, then you can have it if you can take it from me by magic or an equivalent show of talent. Strangers, pair up with the Order-nary you match and let them coach you in being a pony. Hopefully you’ll adapt as quickly as we did, because time is a bit of factor here.”
“More than you know,” Traev said, stepping over the ropes and approaching Ash. Looking back at his companions, he said, “Get this over with,” and the group separated. Looking back at Ash, he said, “You and your associates have been making a lot of assumptions. That’s quite dangerous.”
“Indeed,” Ash said with a slow nod. “I should check my facts before we begin, so let’s start with that name of yours. I hope you’ll pardon me if I’m translating it wrong, but ‘traitor’ is not the sort of word I’d choose to go by.”
“You speak Imperial,” Traev said, surprised. “Who are you, anyway?”
“To Equestria, I am Ashen Blaze,” Ash answered, “elsewhere, I’m Ash the Pragmagic, and formerly Meis Thamule of the Shadowstar Empire.”
“Meis Thamule?”
“General, or Supreme, Mage,” Ash clarified, giving the other ash-grey unicorn an odd look.
Traev matched the look. “That’s what ‘Maestron Brogalio’ means,” he said.
“Ahhh,” Ash brightened. “Well, that’s another little divergence between your universe and mine then. It also means the approach I was planning to take might actually work.” He summoned one of the spare AEoM necklaces over to him and fastened it around Traev’s neck. “So tell me, O shameless defector from darkness, does the term ‘weaving’ mean anything to you?”
“Where’d you get the name ‘Soul Mage’?”
Soul chuckled nostalgically. “I adopted it for a few reasons,” he said. “We’d wound up in a world kinda like this one, full of multicolor ponies with equally colorful and descriptive names and decided it would be a good idea to come up with similar names so we’d fit in better. Those ponies were… rather prone to freak-outs. Anyway, my sister here took one look at her coat and decided to go by ‘Gold Heart.’ I chose Soul Mage partly to complement her alias, and partly to tweak Ash’s ear in our long-running debate about what qualifies as ‘magic.’ Why do you ask?”
“Because, a soul mage is what I am,” Johnten Drago said. He lifted his left front hoof and gave it a few hard flicks, looking at it with a concerned frown. “At least,” he said, flicking the hoof again, “it’s what I was until a couple days ago.”
He kept flicking his hoof until Gold Heart pressed her own over it and gave him a look. “That’s enough of that,” she said sternly, “you’re going to injure something. Now, when you say ‘soul mage,’ are you talking about something similar to this?” She nodded to her brother, and the two touched hooves briefly. From that point of contact, ethereal blue auras spread like flames across both of their bodies, wreathing them in light that was focused most strongly around their front hooves and Soul’s horn. Johnten’s mouth fell open and he was struck speechless for nearly a minute, until something seemed to catch his ear and he snapped out of it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a… powerful display,” he said. “And you two work together?”
“It’s a bond we’ve had from birth,” Soul said, letting the aura fade. “Some people say we’re just two halves of the same soul. I don’t buy that, personally, but I do know Heart and I are far more powerful together than we are individually. So, is your gift similar?”
“Possibly,” Johnten said uncertainly. “I can tell that power comes directly from your own spirits, as does mine, but… Well, I’ve never seen a soul link formed between two living mages; it’s just not possible. Do… you have any dealings with unembodied spirits, by any chance?”
“What, you mean ghosts?” Soul asked, quirking an eyebrow. Johnten nodded.
“Rarely,” Heart answered. “It’s in our power to send them to wherever they’re supposed to go, but those we’ve met weren’t inclined to go willingly. Or to be cooperative in any other way...”
“Our skills are very different then,” Johnten said. “I can do a few things on my own, but mostly I unlock and empower special abilities in ghosts, or have them grant me their power for a time.” He sighed and looked down at his left hoof again. “None of that’s worth anything if I can’t even get my soul fire to ignite in the first place though.”
“You have a horn,” Soul said, pointing. “It may feel odd, but try focusing your power through it. Unicorn horns are designed to channel magic, but spirit power works just as well.” He demonstrated by stretching a tendril of ethereal blue energy out of his own horn and moving it around. Johnten watched him for a moment, and then looked up at his horn, eyes squinting tight in concentration. He started mumbling strange words that sounded almost recognizable to Heart and Soul, the same short string of phrases again and again with increasing effort and frustration in his voice, until suddenly his ear twitched to the left. He relaxed, and an ethereal blue aura appeared around his horn.
“So, that’s it then,” he said, satisfied.
“I hope your personal abilities will be enough,” Heart said, “because I’ve never seen any ghosts floating around Equestria.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Johnten said. “You clearly can’t sense them, but my two… closest partners have been traveling along with us.” He coughed into his hoof, suddenly embarrassed. “I… sent one of them to try and get the Diamond last night,” he admitted.
“Oh, so that’s what happened,” Soul said. “Ash told us about that incident. We were worried some other party was trying to get in on the game.”
“No, not this time,” Johnten said, briefly sheepish but sobering quickly to add, “but I wouldn’t discount the possibility. The Gems tend to draw unwanted attention to themselves.”
“Don’t I know it,” Soul said ruefully.
Carrie Chen walked over to her double, looked her over dubiously, and then looked at herself, and finally asked, “Just what could you possibly teach me?”
“How to move like a pony, for one thing,” Gale answered with a patient tone. “Beyond that, well, I guess that depends on your natural talents. I’m the mechanic, general technology buff, and sniper of the Order-naries. What’s your role?” Carrie muttered something under her breath. “Come again?” Gale asked, cocking her ears intently.
“Weapons, I guess,” Carrie said. She picked up a hoof and looked down at it darkly. “Don’t see how I can manage that without fingers though.”
“You’d be surprised,” Gale said with a wry smirk. “Equestria ponies are surprisingly flexible and dexterous. What sort of weapons though?”
“Anything that uses projectiles,” Carrie answered, “I’m a crack shot.”
“Perfect,” Gale smiled, “I might have just the thing for you then. It won’t do much to tip the balance against Tau’rin, but every little bit helps.”
“Who’s Tau’rin?” Carrie asked with a quizzical look.
Caught off-guard by the question, Gale struggled to find the words to answer with. “Uh, the monster connected to the Gems?” she ventured at last. “Brutish, with a bit of a bull motif. Showed up about the same time the Gems started cropping up in your world?”
Realization dawned on Carrie Chen’s face, and she shook her head slowly with a small, grim smile. “I think you’ve confused our Gems with a… remarkably similar set of artifacts, Gale,” she said. “The Chaotic Gems have been a part of my world’s myths and legends for centuries, and the Bipersonality Team – Traev, Johnten, and I – had been caretakers of the set for several years before the monster we’re chasing even showed up. He’s linked to the Gems because, to some degree, they created him.”
“I… see.” Gale remained calm and impassive as she turned away from her double, walked across the instruction area to where Ash was trying without much success to get Traev’s horn to maintain a steady glow, and whispered into her grey stallion’s ear. “Ash, I think our plans may have a few kinks in them.”