Unity: A Tale of Arcadia

by Kieva Lynn

Book Two: Chapter Fourteen

Book Two: Wizard Quests

Chapter Fourteen

Everyone jumped back, not a few screaming, as Merlin suddenly took a deep breath in. And began coughing violently over the cobwebs he had just inhaled. They all watched, eyes wide, as the ancient wizard's body convulsed with the violence of the coughing, until he finally cleared out the cobwebs and laid back down, eyeing Jim. "Are you the Trollhunter?" He asked.

"Well, yeah. I'm-"

"I thought you'd be taller. And also older. What are you, ten?"

"I'm sixteen." Jim countered.

"Sixteen... Hmmmm.... I was only off by, oh, let's see... four, carry the ten... Fourteen years." Merlin shook his head.

"Holy Merlin it's really you!" Toby exclaimed.

"What manner of troll are you supposed to be?"

"I'm not a troll, I'm a Toby!"

Twilight stepped forward. "And I'm a-"

"Unicorn pony, yes. I do remember Starswirl you know." Merlin cut her off. "And what fair vision is this?"

"Blinkous Galadrigal at your service-"

"Not you!" Merlin said, already making cutting others off a habit. "You." He motioned to Claire.

"Claire Nunez sir."

"It is a pleasure my dear." Merlin smiled.

Both at once, Blinky and Twilight tried again to speak with the wizard: "Your sageness, we-" "Sir, we were sent to find you by-" Both were cut off as Merlin sat up and began to stretch, his joints cracking loudly as the stretching went on and on.

"I seriously don't wanna be old." Toby said as the stretching, popping, and cracking entered it's third minute.

"Now then, I assume one of you has my staff...?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, here you are." Twilight levitated the staff to Merlin.

"Excellent! Now we have all we need to bring about Morgana's final doom!"

"Um,, yeah, about that..." Rainbow Dash said hesitantly.

"...The enemy of Faust's final prophecy has already taken her." Twilight finished.

"Well there goes hope then." Merlin said. "How could you let that happen?"

"Let it!?" Rainbow screamed.

"I call them as I see them little pony."

"'Abrasive' doesn't even begin to describe him..." Twilight muttered. "Look! Gandalf sent us to find you! He has a plan!"

"Well of course he does, Gandalf always has a plan..." Merlin sighed. "I don't suppose he's told you how often those plans don't work?"

"Be that as it may, I would say that Master Gandalf's plan is better than any other chance we have. After all, he, unlike you, has been awake and planning. And furthermore if we do not take action now, then all hope will truly be lost-" Blinky wasn't even started on his tirade when Merlin interrupted him:

"Four arms, six eyes, but he talks like he has ten mouths."

Rainbow, Toby, and Aja couldn't help but chuckle.

"So, we've found Merlin, what are we doing?" Toby asked.

Twilight answered "We've just got to get clear of the anti-magic field and Claire can portal us back to the Tardis. Then we'll gather the others from Eqqus and head home."

"Then let's find the exit door already."

XXXXX

The Doctor was sitting by the Tardis' main console, sipping a cup of tea, when a portal opened near the doors. Claire was through first, followed by her fellow Trollhunters, the ponies, Aja, Merlin, and the large trolls last. "That really wasn't very wise." He said to Claire as the portal closed. "Teleporting directly into the closed space folds of a Tardis was very risky."

"Oops? Sorry, but I wasn't sure Arrrgh and Drall would fit through the door."

"I'd say not... Well, let's get moving on then, shall we?"

"Yes! With any luck Gandalf and my friends are back in Canterlot with Starswirl by now." Twilight said.

"Let's hope so." The Doctor answered. He turned to the center console and started activating switches, powering up for the transit to Eqqus.

This trip proved to be as smooth and uneventful as the first. Because it was daytime, the trolls remained inside the Tardis, while the rest of the team stepped outside where they were greeted by Twilight's friends. Rainbow Dash flew to them, cheering and excitedly exchanging stories with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Twilight, of course, made a beeline for Starswirl. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" She was bouncing on her hooves, in a circle around Starswirl and Gandalf. "You're Starswirl! Oh! Oh I've dreamed of this moment my entire life!"

"Twilight..." Gandalf whispered.

"I know I know! But... Squeeeeee!"

Starswirl looked up at Gandalf. "Is this that 'fan club' thing you were warning me about?"

"It certainly is."

The pony mage shook his head. "That will take some getting used to... Now, Twilight, was it? I am pleased to meet you as well, and would be happy to get to know you better if you will just calm down a little."

"I'll need a little time on that last part!" Twilight answered, still hopping.

"Oh fair enough... So I assume we're ready to go now that everypony is-" Starswirl finally caught sight of Merlin. "-Oh, you're here too."

"Don't sound so excited." Merlin groused.

"Oh I assure you I'm not."

"Wait do you two have a problem with each other?" Applejack asked, looking back and forth between Starswirl and Merlin.

"I kinda think everyone has a problem with Merlin." Rainbow whispered to her.

"Yeah he's kind of a jerk, like Gandalf warned us." Claire also whispered.

"Issues aside," Gandalf said, "I think we had better load the supplies and be on our way."

"Supplies?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, in those big carts over there." Applejack motioned to a pair of large metal carts with tarps over the top. "The Princesses agreed t' send some stuff Gandalf said we'd need for his plan."

Unable to restrain her curiosity, Twilight peaked under one of the tarps. Her jaw dropped at what she was seeing. "This... This is..."

"Shhh..." Gandalf said. "Don't say it aloud around here." Twilight could only nod weakly...

XXXXX

It took another hour for both carts to be loaded aboard the Tardis and safely stowed away, and for everyone to board her again. Celestia and Luna arrived when only Twilight and the Doctor were still standing outside. "Farewell my student. I wish you success." Celestia said, pulling Twilight into a hug. To the unicorn's surprise, Luna did the same.

"Thank you both. I wish I didn't have to go, but..." Twilight hung her head.

"Now, now... None of that. We can speak whenever we wish."

"It's not the same." Twilight whispered.

Luna said "No, but what will be will be."

"I suppose so." Twilight admitted. She then bowed. "Time to go..."

Twilight boarded the Tardis and the door closed, the vehicle vanishing from sight moments later.

This new journey, however, was not to be as untroubled as the previous three. Almost as soon as they were gone, the Tardis began to shudder violently, and alarms starting ringing from numerous control panels. "What's happening!?" Fluttershy fearfully exclaimed.

"Hard to say precisely!" The Doctor answered. "Something is pulling us off course!" He scrambled around the center console, trying to regain control. "Everyone brace yourselves on something! We're going to have a rough landing!"

There was a terrible grinding sound, so loud that the ponies all laid their ears back while everyone else covered their ears with their hands, and then a shockwave as they came to rest with a hard impact. The Doctor, who had somehow managed to keep to his hooves while working, shut off the alarms and said "Well, we're here. Wherever here is."

"What'dya mean by that?" Applejack asked. "Ain't we back at Unity?"

"No. As I said, we were pulled off course somehow."

"Isn't that bad?" Aja asked. "Krel said we might not have any extra trips."

"We're stranded somewhere!?" Rarity exclaimed, and everyone began to panic.

"Now now... Krel said we 'might' not have any extra trips. And to not count on more than one or two extra." The Doctor explained. "I've already looked the components Krel repaired over and they are intact. We can still get back to Unity, once I check the rest of the systems over." He looked at Twilight. "In the meantime, I would suggest that you and your friends take a careful look outside to see where we are."

"Um... That sounds dangerous." Fluttershy whispered.

The Doctor trotted to Fluttershy's side and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Maybe. Maybe very much so. But I've been doing this for a long time dear Fluttershy, eight centuries over many lives. And if I've learned one thing it's that things like this don't happen at random. If we're here, we're here because there's something we need to see or do."

"Then let's take a look." Twilight said. "But only a few of us. Me, Tess, Gandalf, Jim, and Blinky if it's not daylight. Everyone else wait here."

It wasn't daylight. Or, rather, it was but the thick roiling black clouds that filled the sky filtered the light more than enough to render it safe for trolls, and Blinky was able to join them. The first thing Twilight noticed, after the clouds, was the heat. It was easily over a hundred degrees. The ground was also hot, so much so that she nearly needed to dance in place to keep the black volcanic sand from burning her hooves. The Tardis had arrived in a cleft of rock that was shielded from view in most directions, and that was a good thing considering they were on a high sloping mountain side. There was also a noticeable trembling in the ground, the source of which became obvious when they all stepped out from the cleft and saw, far to the west, a river of lava cascading down the slopes.

Above, the mountain's peak was aglow with lava, and a column of ash rose into the sky, providing the dark clouds that filled the heavens from horizon to horizon. "We're on the side of an active volcano." Jim gasped. "What could we need to see or do here?"

"This isn't just any volcano." Tess whispered, fear in her voice. "Orodruin."

Twilight's head spun to face the elf. "This is...?"

Gandalf could only nod. "It seems we've found where Mordor vanished to in the sundering."

"But you said that was six thousand years ago." Jim said.

"It was, but... I'm wondering if we should be surprised, after the news we received from Earth... That the enemy's foot soldiers are orcs." Tess said.

"Wait, are you saying our current enemy is based here?" Twilight asked.

"I suspect so." Gandalf confirmed. "Look!" He motioned downward, toward the plains of Mordor, where armies were being marshaled in rank and file. As they watched, there was a sudden brightening from above, and they looked up to see that there was now an image being projected onto the clouds from somewhere below. Static resolved into a clear image of a woman, seemingly human but with blue skin and glowing yellow eyes. Gunmar was visible behind her, still turned to stone, and there were several other beings of various types standing to her left and right. Most were unknown, but Blinky gasped as he recognized Usurna to the left, and Twilight as she saw Chrysalis to the right.

The blue woman began to speak, and even on the heights of the mountain they could hear her clearly. "Armies of our Dark Master! Our great work is nearly complete! As I speak, the final batch of harvesters is on route to the mountain, and when they finish their work ultimate power will be ours!" The massed armies of orcs cheered. "Stand ready! Our expeditionary forces have established beachheads on Earth and Eqqus. Soon we march!" The projection vanished.

"We have to go. Now!" Jim said.

"Wait." Twilight's ears perked up. "Does anyone else hear that?"

"Yes! A droning sound. Getting louder. Or maybe closer." Blinky said.

A few moments later, the source of the sound came into view. It was a trio of large aircraft, propeller driven, passing low over the slopes of Mount Doom. "Orcs with airplanes?" Jim wondered.

"It's no surprise. They've had as long to develop as we did." Tess said. "Though I do wonder if they made these themselves or were given the technology." The aircraft passed nearby, but not directly overhead, and bay doors in the belly of each vehicle opened, disgorging a thick mass of particles that fell to the ground.

"Crop dusting?" Blinky wondered

"Doubtful. I want a closer look." Twilight said, and headed down slope towards where the unknown mass had landed, the others close behind her.

What they found, when they got to the edge of where the mass had settled, was something that coated every inch of rock and shimmered faintly. Tess knelt down close, pulled her goggles down over her eyes, and started looking with increasing magnification. "Nanites?" She mumbled after reaching the highest magnification.

When Twilight asked, Tess passed her the goggles, and they were subsequently passed to everyone else as well.

"They're like tiny little robots." Jim said.

"That's the idea." Tess said. "The enemy itself must have given them to the orcs, I can't believe they've developed that far on their own. We don't even have this kind of technology yet, though we've discussed the idea. Wait here, I'm going back for the Doctor, he needs to see this."

Tess returned with the Doctor and Aja a few minutes later. "Nanites indeed, and very advanced ones." he confirmed.

Twilight asked "They seem to be burrowing down into the rock. Do you have a way to contain a sample of them safely? I'd like for you or maybe Krel to examine these more closely."

"Excellent idea. And in fact Aja has an option for that."

"Well, yes, I can set my serrator to form a shield that should hold them well enough." Aja confirmed. She fiddled with the device for a moment, before holding it out and creating an energy bubble, open at the top, into which Twilight levitated a sample. Aja then closed the opening as well.

"Okay, I'm hoping that's all we needed to see." Jim said. "Can we get out of here?"

"Certainly. The Tardis is ready to go."

"Then let's get home before anything else bad can happen." Twilight said, and no one disagreed.

Author's Note:

Up Next:

Book Three: Uncertain Days

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

You took nanites of unknown but hostile providence, into the TARDIS, and then taunted Murphy with a plea for uneventful travel? What is wrong with you?

[Herald of Opera]

9882798
To be fair, TARDISes are intelligent enough to operate a human body should the situation require it, so this diversion was entirely her doing. And she also has plenty of extraneous mass lying around given that her power supply is an entire star that was stuffed into her somewhere. Oh, and obviously she can see the future because she's not flying blind even if the husband is.

[badninja]

Not good in the slightest. So just who is this master that is pulling the strings, becuase I think of only one guy who disappeared in an unusual fashion and if he is here they are screwed.