Animal Friends

by Elkia Deerling

Chapter eighteen: it’s not the journey; it’s the destination

A great commotion went through all of Ponyville, when dark figures came from the East and shot through the air. At first there were gasps, then there were shouts, and then there was panic. Doors were closed, ponies hurried inside and looked through their curtains at the sky. Before long, Ponyville became a ghost town, inhabited only by curious eyes through windows. Only the flower ponies remained on the streets, having fainted before they could reach a door.

The source of the panic came in the form of a band of big, armored dragon warriors. About three dozen were there, each flying in formation with military precision, casting great shadows upon the lands below as they flew through the morning sky. But they weren’t planning any raids on Ponyville, taking what could be taken from frightened hooves. Nor were they planning on destroying the town with their mighty fire, making a statement against Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and cutting off Canterlot’s supply of food and other resources.

No, the ponies had nothing to fear, for these dragons were here to make a delivery.

Each of them was carrying a curious object, made of shiny metal. They looked like pieces of a giant puzzle, brand new and ready to be gathered and put together. Each piece was as big as a cart, or sometimes even bigger, and often loaded on the dragons’ backs, although some preferred to keep them in their claws.

From the Northeast came suddenly another group of flyers, having heard the distress call from Ponyville of an aerial assault. The Wonderbolts, soaring through the sky in a tight arrow formation, came closer and closer, until they finally saw what they were dealing with.

The dragons threw suspicious glances towards the pegasi squad, but Rainbow Dash flew out to meet her colleagues, and assured them of the friendly mission of the dragons. Upon seeing their newest cadet, hearing her story, and with the promise of a detailed status report from this unexpected breach of Equestrian airspace, the Wonderbolts retreated, although their minds were left in puzzlement.

The dragon squadron veered off towards the center of town, making all of the thatched roofs sway with the flap of their powerful wings. There, they turned to the right, aiming for the crystal pinnacle of Twilight Sparkle’s Castle of Friendship.

Down below, hearing no war cries fill the air, and seeing no flickering light of dragon fire, some ponies were brave enough to open their doors and witness the spectacle. The thought crossed some minds that there would perhaps be another dragon migration, even though it was hardly the time of year. Guessing and thinking all they could, the flock of dragons kept them in puzzlement, and would keep them in puzzlement for a long time.

As the dragons reached the Castle of Friendship, they made one last swoop through the air, and then landed one by one on the grassy fields in front of Twilight’s castle. Rainbow Dash was in front of them all, carrying Spike on her back, who really felt like he had participated in the great dragon migration, but ending at the best destination he could imagine: home.

With a surge of purple magic the castle’s doors swung open, and Rainbow Dash was rewarded with the sight of all of her friends (and Discord). Had they known through which adventures and ordeals Rainbow Dash had been, they had probably done a group hug and cried. But instead, they just stopped right before the army of dragons, commanded by Dash and Spike, and looked at them all with confused eyes and many questions in their minds.

“Twilight! Everyone!” Spike jumped off Dash’s back and tried to do a group hug of his own, which he couldn’t do, for all of the ponies stood too far apart. Instead, he locked Twilight Sparkle in a tight embrace. Tears were in his eyes. He was back with his friends, alive and well, a thought which had seemed quite impossible during his adventure.

Now the ponies were even more confused, but Twilight returned the hug anyway. “I’m glad to see you too, Spike. You and Rainbow Dash have been away for such a long time…” When the dragon finally let her go, she looked at Rainbow Dash.

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” Dash said. “It’s quite a story. But anyway”—she stepped aside and waved a hoof towards the dragon army—“here are your parts, delivered by the dragon express itself.”

Twilight let her gaze wander over all the enormous dragons, standing in full armor and unstrapping the loads they were carrying. Then Twilight scolded herself for being so surprised and stupid. She realized that she hadn’t even thought about a way of transporting the parts from the Dragon Lands to Equestria, as the arc was quite big and heavy. But apparently, Dragon-Lady Ember had been so generous as to lend Dash and Spike some of her finest warriors, which was more than logical, Twilight thought, because everything had been quiet since Ember had become Dragon-Lady so long ago, and she probably wouldn’t even need an army anymore. After Dash and Spike’s tale, however, Twilight would be sure to write quite more often to the Dragon Lands.

After a quick order from Rainbow Dash, the dragons marched into the castle. Their thundering feet made the chandeliers and paintings and windows rattle, and it was a good thing the hallways were so high. Twilight directed them to the study, where they neatly piled up all of the parts and then reassembled themselves onto the grass outside. Meanwhile, a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered near Twilight’s castle, and looked in awe at the mighty dragon soldiers. A gasp went through them when the dragons departed in a cloud of teeth and claws and spines. The citizens of Ponyville would remember that day for a long time, and of course, Twilight Sparkle had some explaining to do.

But not now and then. After all the parts were inside, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Spike said a few quick words to the crowd—with which the bystanders weren’t at all satisfied—and then retreated inside as well. After an hour or two the crowd realized that no explanation would come that day, and returned home, slightly disappointed but very intrigued.

Even Twilight had trouble keeping her curiosity in check, and tried to sneak a few questions through the conversation she and Dash and Spike had when they walked through the crystal hallways.

“I’m sorry Twilight, but the story is really too big to tell right now,” Rainbow Dash said.

“But can’t you summarize it a little bit?” Twilight Sparkle said with hopeful eyes.

Spike shook his head together with Rainbow Dash. “Even then it would take the whole afternoon telling you guys what happened in the Dragon Lands.”

“And what is still happening,” Rainbow Dash added.

But those words of foreshadowing only increased Twilight’s curiosity, and she tried to ask one more time before they reached the study room.

But Rainbow Dash was resolute. “No Twilight. First we save Fluttershy, then we have enough things to talk about for a whole week.”

With the picture of Fluttershy once more in her mind, Twilight’s guilt took over the curiosity, and she cursed herself for being distracted so easily from such a grave and important task. She had to prepare her mind for what was about to come: the construction of the last piece of the puzzle and the experiment which might save a pony life.

The doors of the study were already open, and everyone was gathered around the machine and looking at the doorpost. They were all awaiting Twilight’s instructions, ready to start the last phase of their mission.

As Rainbow Dash stepped inside, however, she cast a sideways glance at Discord, floating over the Flutterite with a pear in his claws. Now she had the urge to ask some questions herself, which she couldn’t contain. “What is he doing here?”

“And I’m very glad to see you too, lovely Rainbow Dash,” Discord said with a frown, as he tossed the remains of his pear into his mouth.

Dash turned to Twilight Sparkle. “I thought you guys only needed his magic, not himself.”

Discord flapped down and landed on the ground, throwing a stare at Rainbow Dash. “Well, you see, Rainbow Dash, they need me very much, for I am the one who will rescue Fluttershy from the dreadful world of Middle Dirt.”

“What?! That’s insane!” Dash said, doing nothing to hide her astonishment.

“He doesn’t even know the name of the land,” Spike added. “It’s Middle Earth.”

Discord waved his claw dismissively. “Earth, dirt, close enough.”

Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer stepped between them. They glanced at each other for a split second. Glances which said, ‘Are you going to say it, or shall I say it?’

Starlight thought she would be the better liar of them, although she found the words hard to say. “We… eh… need Discord for our mission, Rainbow Dash. He seemed to be the best candidate to go through the machine.”

“What? But—“

“But we will go along as well, of course,” Starlight added. “That’s what we’ve agreed to.”

Discord crossed his uneven arms. “Yes, yes, yes, fine! As long as I get to be the hero, and you will be the background ponies for once.”

“Of course,” Starlight said together with Twilight. Both ponies forced a smile at Discord’s expectant stare, but the rest of them didn’t even bother.

With a jump, Discord was in the air again. “Alright! Let’s get on with it, then. Let’s make legends happen!”

And so the ponies got to work. Twilight gave the schematics that came with the building kit of the teleportation arc one short glance, before knowing what had to be done. She began giving everypony a small task, and they worked together to build the arc. At first Twilight Sparkle wanted to do it all by herself, together with Starlight Glimmer, but Starlight had urged her to involve her friends as well, as she knew that it would be good for her to feel the bonds of their friendship through cooperation.

Discord, however enthusiastic he sounded at first, was left out of the project altogether, as neither Twilight nor Starlight Glimmer trusted him with delicate tasks. Not that they were afraid of sabotage, because Discord knew very well that the life of his closest pegasus friend was at stake; it was just that he was often sloppy and untidy, and they were afraid of losing parts. But that was fine by Discord, as he didn’t like working with his hands anyway, unless he would be making something chaotic or funny (to him). After a few minutes of questioning the ponies quite annoyingly with, “Oh! What is that?” or “And what does that do?” or “Are you mares done yet?” he decided to watch the working ponies out of a leisurely chair with some more fruit—it was grapes this time.

Twilight and her friends first made the foundation in order, placing the parts on top of each other where they clicked into place. Much to Twilight’s astonishment, they didn’t even need nuts and bolts or screws or nails or welds to keep the parts together. Apparently, the dragons had made some improvements on the schematics Twilight had given them so long ago, inventive as the dragon smiths were. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie did most of the heavy lifting, while Rarity and Spike made sure that the pieces clicked snugly together, and plugged in the cables and tubes. All the while, Twilight oversaw the operation and gave directions, with Starlight behind the computer screens, who made sure that the arc stayed connected and synchronized to the main terminal.

By the end of the afternoon, the foundation was already standing, and they faced a problem, because they couldn’t reach the arc anymore. Applejack came with the idea to make some scaffolding out of books, stacking them on top of each other to create a makeshift stairs. At first Twilight was strongly against that, but agreed anyway; Fluttershy was much more important than a few books. She appointed certain bookcases with less valuable or older books, or books which she had finished reading anyway, and shoved them inside.

Pieces were clicked into place, software was programmed, bolts were fastened, cables were connected, lights were turned on, and soon the ponies were almost done. When the light of the moon filtered through the high windows above, making the shiny new parts glitter and gleam against the crystal of the walls, everypony and Discord was looking at a piece of art, rather than a machine.

Discord conjured up a big pair of sunglasses and placed them on his nose. “Very nice. I knew we could do it!”

He received a strange glare from everypony but turned to Twilight Sparkle anyway. “Say, Twilight, once you are done with it, could I have the arc placed in my front yard? It would make an amazing sundial.”

But Twilight Sparkle (very wisely) decided to ignore Discord’s comment, and instead threw a sidelong glance outside. The stars were gleaming just as brightly as the moon in a stark, deep-black night sky, and Twilight let out a small sigh, before turning to Starlight Glimmer. “Everything online?”

“Yes,” Starlight said from behind her screen, “everything is online.”

Then Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer made three more checks just to make sure everything was connected and assembled in the right way, but they couldn’t spot a single mistake. There was no doubt about it; the teleportation device was almost ready. The only thing missing was the magically-charged Flutterite. “Alright, Discord, your turn now,” Applejack said to him.

Discord dispelled his comfortable chair and his fruit, and floated down towards the table with the colorful crystals. “Very well.” He rubbed his uneven claws together, cracked them, and started observing the rocks as if he were a sculptor about to make a wonderful piece of art. He turned his head around. “Stand back, everypony!”

Twilight Sparkle and her friends did as they were told, until they stood behind the teleportation device and huddled behind the computers. In a flash of thought Twilight Sparkle realized that charging the crystals in the same room as their irreplaceable teleportation machine might not be such a good idea, but before she could stop Discord, he had already begun.

Discord closed his eyes. He could teleport everything he wanted from everywhere with a mere snap of his fingers, for he had done that a million times and it was second nature to him. A transferring spell like this one, however, was something entirely new, and he had to concentrate. He forced the chaotic whirlwind which was his mind to calm down, and focused his energy on gathering his magic. Taking inventory of all the power he possessed, he felt his full might gather inside of him, swirling through his whole body like an electrically-charged river. Sparks erupted from his one deer antler and one gazelle one, as he focused his magical energy into them. For a moment, his antlers looked like sparkly fireworks, and it was a good thing that Discord was facing the other way around, and nothing came flying towards the machine. Then he held the two pieces of Flutterite—one pink; the other yellow—in his claws. Slowly, he brought his antlers down. Down, down, down, until he tapped them gently against the crystals, and immediately retreated, as not to overload the crystals with magic.

A glow shone in the middle of the Flutterite, where Discord had tapped them, and started spreading like paint in a glass of water through the whole crystals. The ponies looked in awe at the crystals in Discord’s claws, as they now emitted a light brighter than the brightest lantern. With a sigh, Discord put them down again. He never liked giving things away, especially something as valuable as power. But he had done it anyway, for Fluttershy, and for honor and glory. “There, it’s done,” he said quite harshly, and walked towards a comfortable chair to sit down. The truth was that he felt quite sapped, but he didn’t want to show that; he should be a valiant hero soon, after all.

Twilight came nearer and caught the Flutterite in a magical haze. Floating them to the top of the machine, she crowned the structure with the glowing crystals, only adding to its radiance. It truly looked like a piece of art now.

“Personally, I would have chosen bright blue gems,” Rarity said. “But these will do as well, of course.”

Applejack stepped forward and turned to Twilight. “That’s it? We’re done now?”

“Yes.” Twilight Sparkle took a moment to look at all of her friends. “The machine is finished. It’s time to get Fluttershy back.”

But this would perhaps be the hardest part of the whole mission: waiting. Of course, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer would go into the machine, as they knew the Lord of the Rings books best. The rest of them would have to stay behind, sit down, and hope for the safe return of them all. Twilight Sparkle took Spike and Applejack apart for a few moments, broadly explaining how the machine worked and how they should operate it. Applejack was the most practical of them all, and could follow instructions to the letter, while Spike already knew some things about the inner workings of the machine, as Twilight Sparkle had told him so many things about it when they were together—often to Spike’s annoyance. They entered the same coordinates as the ones which had popped up during the accident, and agreed on a time at which they would pull the lever and teleport themselves back. As long as they would be standing at the right spot at the right time, the machine would teleport them right back to Equestria.

“But Twilight, what if you won’t make it in time?” Applejack said.

Twilight Sparkle threw a sidelong glance at Starlight. They both knew that the machine had just two charges; one for each element of Flutterite. They didn’t know whether the crystals could be recharged or would explode from the strain of the magical energy. They both knew they might have just one chance. “Then… eh…” Twilight bit her lip. “We’ll make it. Don’t worry.”

Deep inside, Twilight felt bad for taking Starlight Glimmer with her. Now she would yet plunge another friend into danger on her accord, and she knew she could never forgive herself if something would happen to her. Nevertheless, Twilight knew that she would perhaps need Starlight’s help, and that it would be unjust to let her wait in sorrow as well, for she cared just as much for Fluttershy as Twilight herself did.

Suddenly, breaking the silence like a thin glass window, Pinkie bounced up and down. “Of course you’ll make it, Twilight. You can do anything!”

Upon seeing Pinkie’s cheerful face, Twilight Sparkle actually smiled.

“I have not the faintest doubt that you will succeed, darling,” Rarity said. “In the meantime, we will make sure that Fluttershy will receive a warm welcome back into her own world.”

Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “We’ll all stick to the plan, Twi. And it’s a good plan at that, if I say so myself.”

“Hey, if I can survive the Gauntlet of Fire, then you can survive Middle Earth, easy peasy,” Rainbow Dash said, swooping in the air. But when Twilight threw a baffled glance towards her, she realized that she had run her mouth off. “Hehe, oops!”

Before Twilight could ask her questions anyway, Discord stepped between them. “Of course we will succeed—we have me.”

“Now that’s really reassuring,” Spike whispered.

Then there was silence again. Everypony knew that the time had finally come. All the construction had been done, all the preparations had been made. There was no reason to delay the teleportation any longer. Each of them thought of the dangers, and their minds were filled with worry—except Pinkie Pie’s, for she hadn’t run out of optimism yet, however gloomy this goodbye felt to all of them. They all looked at Twilight and Starlight, and Twilight and Starlight looked back. “Goodbye, everypony,” Twilight said. “I hope to see you again.”

“Of course you will, Twilight,” Pinkie said back. She then jumped up, stretched her arms, and locked both Starlight, Twilight, and Discord in a tight embrace. Soon the others joined as well. They became huddled together in a hug that spoke more words of ‘goodbye’ and ‘good luck’ than there were languages in Equestria to say them.

At last, Discord wriggled himself free from the cluster of ponies. With an agile jump and a flap of his wings, he landed on the pedestal beneath the arc. “Beam me up, Twilight,” he said, raising his arms in the air.

Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer took one more glance at their friends, before they disappeared behind the computer screens.

There was silence once more, as the rest of the ponies stepped back. They didn’t dare to breathe, as if that would interrupt the teleportation. With eyes filled with hope and fear and concern, they watched Twilight and Starlight fire up the machine.

Once again, a rumble started filling the room, swelling in volume as the machine fired up. Soon the sound of clicking buttons got overwhelmed by the roar of the machine.

Once again, lights started to flash on and off, making the arc shine. With one last pull of a big lever, the teleportation process got initiated, and Twilight and Starlight jumped upon the pedestal next to Discord.

Once again, sparks of colored lightning erupted from the top, and raced up and down the arc in sizzling bolts, blinding everyone careless enough to look at it. Everypony shielded their eyes and flattened their ears against the thundering roar and the crackling lights.

This time, it seemed to go even faster than during the accident. With a tremendous bang as if lightning struck right in their midst, the teleportation was completed. The rumbling decreased until it was nothing more than the sound of a distant thunderclap, muffled by clouds. The lights flashed on and off, until they finally died. The electricity sparked up and disappeared.

Slowly, everypony opened their eyes, and looked at the machine.

There, still standing under the arc, was Discord, who met their gazes with the most baffled one of his own.

For a split second, their hearts sank, as they thought that the teleportation had failed somehow. But then Discord looked to his left, then to his right. With a voice trembling with disbelief and surprise, he said, “Where are Starlight and Twilight? And what am I doing here?”

Naturally, only Discord’s second question remained unanswered.

Comments

[Luna Nightshade]

So ... didn't Twilight tell Rarity that she needed two Crystals - one for Magic, the other for Electricity? And now they are both magically charged?

[Elkia Deerling]

Darn. Plot hole