Unity: A Tale of Arcadia

by Kieva Lynn

Book Three: Chapter Five

Author's Note:

Warning: Something of an (aborted before it can happen here) spoiler for a plot development in the last few episodes of Trollhunters in this chapter.

Book Three: Uncertain Days

Chapter Five

The Royal Equestrian Guard had been caught badly by surprise. Enemy forces, expected to make a beeline straight for Canterlot, had instead turned aside soon after crossing the border and marched, instead, on Apoloossa and Dodge Junction. There was absolutely no apparent reason for such a move; Both towns were tiny settlements devoid of military resources or tactical value. The ponies didn't even give the enemy a fight for either, simply evacuating both towns in advance of the front (Though, the evacuation itself was nearly a riot; those aren't the kinds of ponies who take kindly to being removed from their land no matter what the danger.)

After taking both towns, the enemy's forces switched directions, leaving some troops to hold both places while the rest backtracked to where they had crossed the border and continued east towards Manehatten. "And this is where we draw the line." Celestia said, indicating a specific location on the map halfway between the advancing front and the largest city in Equestria. "Manehatten is being evacuated as we speak, but it is far too important politically, tactically, and economically. They must not be allowed to gain control of it. Thoughts?"

"I am concerned sister." Luna said. "Not about your plan itself... I agree that we must take action. We do indeed have no choice but to meet our foes here. But there is something wrong about all of this. I fear we are being baited."

Celestia nodded. "What say you General Morton?"

"I say your sister is almost certainly correct Princess."

Luna said "I find myself torn. If we are being baited, it would be a perfect opportunity to take our enemies by surprise, if only we could determine exactly what they are really planning."

A pegasus commander spoke, "Beginning your pardon Princesses, but might there be something coming from Apoloosa or Dodge Junction? Maybe the troops that stayed behind aren't holding the towns at all, but preparing something there."

"Good thoughts, but perhaps too obvious." Celestia mused.

Morton agreed. "If it's baiting, it means one of two things: Either they have even more firepower on the front line than we think, and they want the whole army there so they can crush it, or there's another attack coming somewhere else important, and coming in from an unexpected direction."

"And by 'somewhere else important' you mean here?" The commander asked.

"Here or Cloudsdale." Luna said.

"Either way, we must respond." Celestia said. "But maybe, knowing that they are up to something more, we can have a few tricks of our own ready..." The Princess succinctly spelled out what she had in mind.

When she was finished, both Luna and Morton were grinning. "This will certainly put the horseshoe on the other foot." Luna said, "Provided we can spare the firepower."

Morton said "I may have an idea there Princess. But, I'm afraid it would rely on one of you feeling up to another trip to Earth and back... With a very large cargo on the return trip.

"If it's for my little ponies, I'll find the strength." Celestia declared.

"And I as well if needed. But what are you planning to bring to our world General?" Luna asked.

And General Morton grinned even more fiercely. "Let's just say they'll never see it coming..."

XXXXX

"You want me to what?" Pinkie Pie asked. She was staring at Rarity, Applejack, Spike, and Bethany.

"You heard us darling. We want you to throw a party. But a different kind of party than you usually throw." Rarity said.

"Exactly!" Beth said, "I mean, you want to cheer people up right?" Pinkie nodded enthusiastically.

"And it hasn't been working so well lately?" Spike added, and Pinkie nodded again, sadly this time.

"And we're tellin' y'all why it ain't been workin'." Applejack said. "Liftin' spirits is one thing. But full bore happy happy joy joy fun just ain't right at a time like this. Nobody's feelin' it. So, what y'all need 't do is be more subdued like."

"Subdued? That doesn't sound like me." Pinkie said in a rare moment of self awareness.

"No darling, but that's why we'll help you."

"Waaaaaait a minute here... We're not talking about some sort of stuffed shirt rubber chicken dinner party are we?" Pinkie asked suspiciously.

Beth held up both hands far apart and moved them closer together. "Kinda sorta half way between that and a usual Pinkie Party." She explained.

"Well I suppose I can do that..." Pinkie thought it over for a moment. "This will cheer people up?"

"Of course it will!" Spike said.

"Okay! I'll do it!" They put their heads together and began to plan...

XXXXX

"Rainbow Dash!" A familiar voice woke Rainbow from her favorite dream. And at the best part too, mere moments before Celestia would have appeared with the quintuple platinum medal. Bleary eyed, she dragged herself out of her bed as the voice called again, then trudged to her balcony, and looked down over the edge.

"Scoots!?" She called down. Rainbow was surprised to see several other faces she recognized as well, and a strange device held in Twilight's magic aura. "Hang on, I'll be right down!" She turned and trotted to her bathroom to groom just a bit: Messy mane style or not, even Rainbow Dash wasn't being seen in public with bed mane.

On the ground, Claire stared up at Rainbow's home with undisguised awe. "So it's made out of clouds? But how...?"

"We pegasai can walk on them like they're solid!" Scootaloo said.

"Yeah you said that before, but why doesn't everything else, like furniture and stuff, just fall through?" Toby wondered.

Jim added "And why don't winds move it or tear it apart?"

"All pegasus magic." Twilight explained. "They can make clouds do what they want, and even freeze them in particular designs and locations, where they'll stay for quite a long time, years even, even without a pegasus actively controlling them."

"I know we should be used to magic by now." Claire said, "But this..."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Jim agreed.

Then they were interrupted by Rainbow Dash finally flying down to meet them. "So what did you need? I'm kinda busy."

"Busy sleeping." Twilight interjected.

"Hay! That's busy for me! So..."

Twilight held up the lightning jar. "We were hoping you could kick some lightning into this."

"What? That's all? Wait here." Rainbow flew away, rapidly vanishing from sight in the sky. She returned in less than five minutes, pushing a small black cloud which she left hovering ten feet up. "Okay, put the whatever it is directly under the center of the cloud, then stand back."

As Twilight positioned the jar, Jim and Toby looked at each other. "This plan is crazy." Toby said.

"No worse than your idea to play Ben Franklin on a clear day." Jim replied.

Toby shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Okay that should do it!" Twilight called up to Rainbow Dash.

"Right! Let's do this!" As the befuddled teenagers watched, Dash flew in a large circle that took her high into the sky and back down to the cloud which, when she reached it, she kicked as hard as she could. There was a loud peel of thunder, and a bolt of lightning crashed down into the jar. After it was over, Rainbow made the cloud dissipate. And the jar glowed with the captured lightning.

"It actually worked..." Toby said in shock.

"Well of course it worked Rainbow Dash did it!" Scootaloo cheered.

"So now you take this to the wizards, right?" Nyma asked.

"Right. And let's go now..."

XXXXX

"I don't know Pinkie..." Bethany said as she looked all around the large high school gymnasium. "This might be a bit too big for what we were thinking..."

"I don't see why." Pinkie replied. "Nothing says a formal party can't be big after all. And if we invite the whole town we'll need the room."

"She may have a point. About both things." Rarity pondered. "Imagine this space, dimly lit, with soft slow dance music playing and maybe some low key decorations along the walls."

"Tables all around the outer rim, and a dance floor at the middle." Applejack added.

Bethany's eyes went wide. "O. M. G... I just realized we're basically planning a prom."

"Huh! We are aren't we?" Applejack nodded.

"Oh! Well that's different! I know all about that kind of party!" Pinkie cheered. "Though we'll have to make some changes to the usual plan, like daycare for little ones. Maybe Trixie will do a show for them!"

"Now darling you're drifting away from the plan..." Rarity warned.

"No I'm not! They'll be in another room! And it won't be the whole night, just maybe a half hour. I wouldn't keep Trixie from coming here and enjoying the adults party too you know."

"Suppose I could give 'em a half hour of lasso tricks." Applejack said. "It is a good idea 't keep the little ones occupied after all."

Rarity said "I'll handle decorations if you handle the food Pinkie."

"And I can talk to Octavia! I'm sure she'll play for this!" Spike said.

"Beth I'll talk 't Trixie if you can handle getting the word out."

Bethany nodded. "All we really need is a time to do it then."

Pinkie said "As down as people are, the sooner the better. I bet we can pull this together in two days!"

"A might short on the time, but we can sure try." Applejack said.

"Then let's get started!" Spike said, and Pinkie cheered as they all set to work...

XXXXX

The group entered Golden Oaks Library to find Gandalf at a table pouring over a number of arcane magical texts. Merlin and Starswirl were not in sight. Twilight assumed they were working away in the basement lab. "Ahh Miss Sparkle." Gandalf greeted. "And friends. What brings you here? I did tell you, you know, that you didn't need to leave."

"I was just concerned. Though, I admit my curiosity is through the roof on what you three are doing." Twilight said. "But, that's not why we're here now. At least, not directly."

"Oh? And what does bring you?"

"Shopping for Merlin." Jim explained. "He asked us to find some spell ingredients for him."

Twilight added "Which I'm very curious about as well. I have no idea what these ingredients could be used to do."

"Perhaps you should show me." Gandalf said softly. Jim, Toby, and Claire held out the items they had gathered for Merlin. Gandalf stared at the assortment for a full minute, then to everyone's surprise grabbed the shopping list out of Twilight's magic aura and loudly exclaimed "Merlin!"

Merlin emerged from the basement grumbling. "Yes Gandalf, what is it-" He fell silent when he saw.

Gandalf looked his fellow wizard in the eyes and shook the list in his face. "Absolutely not." He said sternly.

"'Absolutely not' what?" Claire asked.

"Yes Gandalf, what's going on?" Twilight added.

Gandalf looked to Jim. "Did he tell you what these were for?"

"Not exactly." Jim answered. "He just said that he had a plan of his own in addition to yours and needed this stuff for a spell."

"Oh yes a spell indeed... A transmogrification spell which would have turned Jim into a troll." Gandalf explained.

"Half troll!" Merlin corrected.

"You were gonna... You don't turn my boyfriend into a troll!" Claire exclaimed.

"Half troll !" Merlin said again. "And I am convinced the added strength is necessary!"

"It is not. My plan will work Merlin." Gandalf said.

"But what if he's right...?" Jim asked. "If I do need to be a troll-"

"Half- Oh forget it! I'll be downstairs." Merlin turned and went back down the stairs.

Gandalf walked over to the boy and put a hand on each shoulder. "Now why would you ever think that? Tell me my boy, ever since you picked that amulet up, you've been getting nothing but grief about how a human isn't strong enough haven't you? Nothing but warnings about all the things no 'fleshbag,' as the trolls say, could ever do. And. Yet. You've. Done. Them. What Merlin sees as weakness, I see as strength. And quite aside from that, you have heard the words of the prophecy: 'Human and pony must together contend.' Human and pony, not troll and pony. My plan requires your humanity."

"Gandalf, I have to admit I want to know what you're doing. What is your plan?" Twilight asked.

"Soon my dear. Soon. We should be ready in another three days." Gandalf turned to Jim and his friends. "Speaking of which, though, I am now going to need your trust. We need your weapons. Daylight, Warhammer, and Skath-Hruin."

"But that will leave us defenseless!" Toby objected.

"Only for three days." Gandalf said. "We're quite safe here for now."

"I don't like this." Jim said. "But you are Gandalf..." Hesitantly, he handed the Amulet of Day over to the wizard. Claire and Toby followed suite with their own weapons.

"I thank you." Gandalf said. "Soon we will be ready to combat our foe on it's own level. I suggest that all of you rest until then." He turned and carried the weapons down into the basement, closing the door before Twilight could get even a peek...

Comments

[Herald of Opera]

A might short on the time

I'm pretty sure the phrase is "a mite short", you know, the tiny insects? Google corroborates. ("Hay" instead of "hey" I'm groaning at because of the pun, but I guess that means it's not an error?)

[badninja]

"Only for three days." Gandalf said. "We're quite safe here for now."

They are so going to get attacked during those three days. Even Gandalf makes blunders and I think he is about to make a big one.

[Silentwoodfire]

Pinkie, have you ever considered a Pizza Party?