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// Part 14: And so Fourth Move the Pawns 
// Story: Constantine and the Eternal Night 
// by Jaysteeny 
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Chapter 14: And so Fourth Move the Pawns

The message sent by Twilight Sparkle went to several other ponies, which George and Sam never discovered the names of. Nevertheless, they all arrived at the library at around the same time as Applejack, Rarity, Big Macintosh and Spike. Even with upwards of 12 armed ponies, Twilight still felt uneasy. She conveyed her thoughts to Spike, looking like a creature from legend in the armour he had forged.
“We don’t have enough. They probably called for reinforcements, and with such a high profile captive, they’ll almost certainly send in a big rescue team. Spike, do you have any ideas?” she asked, becoming frantic in her demeanour.
“Well, do you have a spell to multiply yourself or somepony else? If numbers is your only concern, that should be more than enough, even if they are just decoys,” Spike suggested. He had often read through a couple of books while cleaning up, just skimming, and occasionally read about a potentially useful spell. In these kinds of situations he liked to see how many of her books Twilight actually read. If only he could find a hydra…
“I can’t think of any, Spike. If there is one, I haven’t read about it,” she said, bowing her head and closing her eyes, as if in defeat. Suddenly she looked up, almost impaling Spike with her horn as her eyes shone with a sudden fool’s hope. “Spike. I can’t make more of the ponies here, but I do know a spell to summon warriors. If I could just remember where I put that book…”
“This one?” Spike called from the ladder, holding out a blue hardback volume. He had read it before too.
“Yes, Spike! How did you find it?” She asked, almost pulling him to the ground in her eagerness to read it.
“I’m your filing system, remember?” He asked sarcastically. “Also, you could have just looked under ‘B’. Right between Battles of Equestria: A brief history and Be Great: The Auto Biography of The Great and Powerful Trixie. I don’t know why we even have that, I mean, we have the real thing here anyway.”
“Excuse me Twilight, we, by which I mean myself and everypony here, were just wondering; Why is it likely we go to our death? Surely you didn’t try to kill Nightmare Moon. We may be all be apt fighters, but we are still only a small group. We can’t take on an entire squad, much less an entire army! Please tell me that we have enough ponies to survive and maintain our current lifestyle!” Rarity pleaded, making Twilight momentarily forget about trying to pull Spike off the shelf.
“Oh, don’t worry Rarity. I know a spell that is certain to even the odds,” she said with a smile, as Spike reached the ground and walked over, book in his claws. He reached the pair of Unicorns and Twilight took the book from him and began to read it.
“So Twilight…Exactly how is it going to even the odds?” Rarity asked, leaning over to her friend.
“Oh, just you wait and see Rarity. I don’t think we’ll need to be in the firing line after all.” She responded with a grin as her horn began to glow. She closed the book and tossed it aside as the glow brightened.
*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
“Argh, all this way to be thwarted by a door!?” Said Anonymous Pegasus #3 angrily. “Please tell me you know magic or something, because I don’t think blowing on it will do much.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about magic,” replied Sam evenly. “But the rules are different here. Can you see those lines moving about on the poster?”
“What lines? Maybe you have your own magic which has bonded with the unicorn magic in this place. I mean, I can practically feel it, and I’m a Pegasus!”
“Well, if the rules are different here, I have an excuse for breaking ‘em,” He said as he rubbed his hands together, electricity seeming to spark as he rubbed. He saw nothing, as he was focussed entirely on the poster in front of him. “You might wanna step back a few. I’ve never done this before so I could be using the wrong spell.”
“Maybe you should–” Suddenly the hole was opened from the other side by magic bearing a light blue hue. Sam believed he was seeing things and that this meant his spell was ready and sent it through. A mint green unicorn with a cream-coloured mane and tail looked at Sam first in surprise, then suddenly her eyes lit up in excitement and her muzzle cracked open in a smile. A ball of reddish light came from Sam and hit Lyra square in the nose.
“Oof!” She cried, as she flew backwards across the basement, becoming buried under the piles of books and boxes that toppled when she hit. The ponies in the room gasped and looked from Lyra, to the poster, to Lyra, to two figures standing outside of the poster.
“Who, and more importantly what, are you?” Asked Carrot Top, stepping forward.
“Normally I’m Sam, your average Aussie kid,” He easily replied. His lips then bent into a smile. “But today, I’m above average.” His left hand began to crackle with electricity as he formed another spell, aiming the grease gun with his right. He was going to have a lot of fun with this.
*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
“Alright, Trixie, this has gone on long enough. I have no authority over any of these ponies. When they wake up, they can deal with you as they choose.” Stated Golden Shield as he got annoyed at her pretending to forget the way for the seventeenth time.
“That general can deal with Trixie as he chooses…” She said, eyes rotating skyward “I m-mean, um…Please don’t tell him I said that.” Golden Shield and the Doctor both had very concerned looks on their faces.
Shaking his head clear of indecent thoughts, The Doctor decided to get her to talk. “So why don’t you want to take us to your lair?” He asked. “Is it small? Do you think it might not measure up to our standards?” Trixie looked insulted. The Doctor continued on, spurred by this reaction. “Or is it untidy? Is ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’ unable to clean her own home? Come now, we’ve seen messes before, it can’t be all that bad,”
Trixie huffed and turned away. That method of interrogation clearly wasn’t going to work on her. Suddenly she got what she was waiting for. ‘Trixie, everything is in place. You can bring them here now.’ Trixie was a seasoned show mare, and so could quite easily pretend that their next flurry of insults was enough to make her snap and tell them the truth.
“If you’re biding your time for your power to return, don’t bother,” Said Golden Shield suddenly. “If you try anything, The Doctor will just sonic you again and Poof! no powers.”
“And if your first act is to disarm me, my colleague will quite happily defend me from your magic, at which point I will sonic you again. So as you can see, there is no way out but to take us to your base.” This was going better than Trixie could have hoped.
“If we must, so be it. But you shall come as Trixie’s guests, not her captors, and I shall offer you a drink,” she replied, turning around. They reluctantly agreed to her terms and set off, at a far brisker pace headed directly to the library.
*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Another spray of gunshots rent the smoky air below the tree. So far no serious injuries had happened, despite the soldier and the stranger being completely sure of their sighting on multiple occasions. Suddenly a cry went out.
All of the resistance ponies, whose numbers had appeared to be steadily growing, suddenly combined their efforts to make their aggressors duck long enough for all of them to escape. Sam quickly reloaded and ran up the stairs after them, yelling savagely. He reached the top to be disappointed, as the door was locked, and too strongly made to kick down, as his foot discovered the hard way.
“OUCH!” Sam yelled, clutching his toes and hopping in place, despite the obvious risk of further injury presented by a fall down the stairs. He studied the edges of the door. No visible hinges and all signs of a lock or handle had been removed from this side. “Typical. Something tells me she’s been in the prisoner keeping game for a while now,”
“C’mon Sam, don’t give up now! Can’t we just shoot a hole in it or magic our way out?” Encouraged his fellow escapee, Anonymous Pegasus #3. “Or maybe it’s time for somepony with harder hooves to try this,” He managed to plant his front hooves on the step, and reared himself up, ready to strike.
“HA!” Yelled Twilight, sending a low-powered concussive wave through the now open door, sending them both down a few steps, one of them on their face.
“Twilight Sparkle I presume?” Said Sam, slowly getting to his feet and trying to stealthily find his gun, “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in a quick sword duel, would you?”
“I have honestly got no clue who or what you are, or how you know my name. But I get the feeling that the squad coming above ground is just a distraction, and you were the real rescue attempt. Am I correct?”
Sam found the barrel and stopped searching, opting instead to extend that hand in a gesture of peace. “I’m Sam. I am a human, from Earth. I have no clue about any rescue or squad, or how I got here,” Twilight extended a hoof and they shook, Sam using her to pull himself up.
“Well, if you aren’t here to save him, there are still several unanswered questions,” Twilight said, beginning to wonder why the Pegasus hadn’t spoken. “So do you have any connections in Equestria?”
“I can take that question,” interrupted Anonymous Pegasus #3, “So far just me. No other specimens from his planet exist to our knowledge.” He nudged Sam in the ribs with one hoof to signal silence, never breaking eye contact with Twilight. Thankfully, she seemed not to notice, and changed her disposition towards them from ‘escaped prisoner’ to ‘guest’, and beckoned for them to enter the main room.
Several ponies were gathered around, some checking weapons, some engaged in idle chit-chat, and some eating and drinking refreshments offered by Spike. There were some that sat alone, reading books; about three appeared to be tending to Lyra: She was still unconscious. But there was also a large group of them, Sam didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed them before; they stood tall and silent, wearing hood and cloak, beneath which it was unknown and unknowable what they were wearing, or how they were armed. Their squared, creamy muzzles barely poked out from the white shrouds upon their faces. Sam couldn’t help but be reminded of the Black Riders in The Lord of the Rings. They made no move and spoke no words.
*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
“Trixie has led you to the base. Trixie should warn you, though: Two unarmed Stallions, burdened with so many unconscious ponies, will not be hard for Trixie’s friends to overcome,” she said, voice dripping in undisguised menace. “Trixie was wondering how you intended to siege Trixie’s base. Two Stallions would never succeed, even if they had weapons.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Said Golden Shield smugly, before summoning some power to his horn. It twisted around his horn, like golden smoke in a vortex, before suddenly beaming off into the night sky, exploding into a shining beacon just above the tops of the highest rooves. Only ten seconds later, a familiar blue pony came hurtling down from the sky, a much exited looking man on her back.
“Somepony order an M1 Carbine?” She said, as George got off and pulled it from her side. He tossed it to Golden Shield, who caught it in his telekinetic grip, before setting to work arming Rainbow’s saddle.
“Guys, I’m sorry…I should have told you this before but…” Golden Shield started, but George cut him off.
“Don’t worry mate. I always knew, inside, that I’d be going down here. I just never knew I’d be going down fighting. Still, if I’m a pawn, I want to help put the enemy into check.” He walked off and took up his guns, using a nearby cart as a rest, barrels pointed at the library. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll get their attention.” Suddenly Golden Shield laughed.
“George, as much as I admire your courage and self-sacrifice, I have a spell that’ll give us a few more,” he said as his horn began to glow. The glow then brightened and formed an arced beam, splitting in several distinct points and coming to rest at about fifty places on the ground before them. The light then began to form itself into fifty distinct ponies, hooded and cloaked, their squared, grey muzzles just protruding from beneath their black hoods. They were the pawns, and it was time for black to make their move.
“I still get to shoot at something though, right?” Asked George as he rotated his guns to point skywards, barrels just resting on his shoulders. Golden Shield sighed and sent a round into an upstairs window. George shrugged and went back to his cart, higher up now so he could aim above all these ghost ponies. They drew their swords and readied their shields, forming a phalanx. Clearly Golden Shield had some experience with this spell.


(Authors notes) Well, I had an entire weekend to work. The only distractions were those I created. This is all that I did. Well, that and completed the Russian campaign without failing...At the cost of two tank men and one Katyusha that is recommended but not vital to victory...I forgot if there was something important I was gonna say, so I'll assume there wasn't, so GOODBYE, PEOPLEZ!