That Which Darkness Sends

Megan found herself in a clearing deep in the woods. She had a splitting headache. Not far away, Typer sat, rubbing his head with a forehoof.

Megan faceplanted on the ground. "Ohhh, my head..." she moaned, most likely from her last loop.

"Yeah, my head smarts too-" Typer started to say, but stopped. "Hold, on..." He tilted his head, but then seemed very alarmed. "Megan, what did you do?"

"What? Nothing, really.  I've just been looping around this single point in time, each time with one pony. Tirek turns them against what they stand for or something. Hey, what's wrong?"

"WHAT'S WRONG? Firstly, you have been breaking some of the most basic laws of time! Namely, do not change time!

"Secondly, Tesla's not here."

"Yeah, so? She hasn't gone yet. It's been everyone but you, Tesla, and Twilight."

"You don't understand, it's our destiny to stay together, which is also why I can feel something is wrong. But that brings me to number three. Why am I here?"

"What do you mean?" Megan and Typer were both standing by now, and Tirek hadn't shown up yet.

"Remember from when we were at the Moochick's, Twilight said that she and her friends had a powerful magic? Well, Tesla and I weren't part of that group. We didn't even know who Twilight was until last year when she became a princess and was all over the newspapers. While it would make sense that Tirek would use them, I don't understand why he would use us."

"Because you are all ponies that came with her, and you seemed different, so I gave you a position anyway." Tirek was standing before them, arms crossed disapprovingly. "While I just hate to interrupt this lovely story, I have a schedule to keep."

The white sphere in the sky seemed to vanish as the nine moonbeams were sent from above. As Tirek planned, one hit Typer. About ten seconds later, the beam started to flicker, then went out completely long before the others did.

"Why didn't it work? It was supposed to work!"

"Well maybe it's because I don't have an element like the others?" Typer suggested. "Or maybe it's because I've blocked off all access to my brain with magic safeguards after an accident involving two calculators and a stray pencil when I was a foal?"

"Do we even want to know?"

"No." Typer's horn flared for a moment. "Now try it."

The antilight un-lit up again, and Typer was engulfed once more. But again, when the spell ended, Typer still looked liked himself.

"Well, that was nice," he said. Tirek just stared at him with his hand on his chin in an observation pose. "Riiight, well, I'm going to go find Tesla. Megan? You coming with me?" He looked over to Megan, who had her hands shoved in her pockets. She also had her mouth open, as if she were saying something. He then realized that neither of them had moved.

On a hunch, Typer walked up to Megan. No reaction. He waved his hoof in front of her face. Still no reaction. One more test. He pressed his hoof against her arm. He expected nothing to happen, probably he wouldn't be able to move it at all, or even maybe he could change its position but it would be frozen in space.

What actually happened was that when he touched her arm, Megan became unfrozen.

"-kept muttering about time so maybe oh hello what happened here?" She was obviously having a conversation with Tirek before they became frozen. It was startling to be watching one thing to suddenly be seeing something else.

"You were frozen until I touched you. I'm guessing anything within a certain radius of the Darkness blast became still in space." He removed his hoof from her arm. "I think you're fine now. So shall we go and hey look you're not moving anymore." He replaced his hoof and her body became active again.

"So am I good now? I think it's about time we get moving," she said.

"Wait... say that again," Typer said without lifting his hoof.

"I want to get going?"

"No, you said it's about time... time, that's it! You become frozen when I'm not in physical contact with you! Maybe when I let go, you move in real time!"

"You mean that we're going faster than light?"

"Yes! But nothing is supposed to go faster than light, or all sense of time is lost!"

"I think we already experienced that at the Moochick's house."

"Hmm, good point. Since we probably don't want to be touching for the next long while, take this." He closed his eyes and lit up his horn. An aura of his magic appeared around his neck, and in a few moments, a familiar heart-shaped locket hung there. "I figured I might need it, so I slipped it off your neck while neither of you were looking. Sorry."

"Ah, no, it's fine." Megan took the locket. "Yeah, I probably would have done the same thing. The magic in the Rainbow of Light may be infused with whatever Dark magic you have in you. Or something. Let's see if this works." She placed the chain around her own neck.

Typer withdrew his hoof from her arm. "Okay, so far so good. You aren't frozen yet. Hold of, let me make sure that it's self-sustainable." Typer started walking backward. That meant he wasn't watching where he was going.

"I don't feel any different..." Megan looked herself over, making sure nothing was out of place. Then she looked up. "Wait WAIT TYPER WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING!"

It was too late. Typer bumped into something solid. He gave a small "eep!" as he was quickly nabbed up by a large hand.

"Odd, it appears as if the Darkness hasn't taken over you," Tirek said. "I do believe I am somewhat disturbed. This hasn't happened before. Not in the Stratadons, not in my guards..."

"Wait, what?" Megan asked, alarmed and putting some pieces together.

Tirek ignored her. "I mean, you could probably count the pink pony as not completely affected, for whom's loop I am sorry, by the way, but that was somewhat understandable. But I guess it matters little, because I have just realized that there is no way for you to beat me this time."

"Oh? How so?" Typer inquired.

"You have no Element, and I have seen that when the other ponies tried to fight me as a group with Harmony, you and that other mare stood back and didn't attempt to help. I believe that you have no way to defeat me."

"Uhh... Megan? He's right." If he could have, Typer would have turned pale.

* * *

Megan found herself in a clearing deep in the woods. She had a splitting headache. Not far away, Tesla sat, rubbing her head with a forehoof.

"TYPER!" Megan shouted.

Tesla jerked her head up instinctively. "What? Where is he? Does he need help? What happened? I can take 'em!"

Megan closed her eyes and tried to focus on her memories. "I don't remember. Tirek took him after he got shot with the Darkness and time stopped or something... The last thing I remember is that Tirek said that we had no way to defeat him." The realization of the danger struck her and she snapped to attention. "Tesla, he could be dead! We have to go save him!"

Tesla gasped. "No! He can't be dead! But how can we save him? I'm not willing to go back in time and risk creating a paradox inside a paradox."

"Most likely, he's turning at this moment. If Tirek is going by time, I'm willing to bet that the clearings are arranged around the center moonbeam clockwise, so we should face the beam turn left." Megan turned to face the antilight. Then she remembered something that was vital to what they were doing.

"Uhh... what 'moonbeams'?" Tesla asked. "All I see is forest."

"Ah, that's right. Tirek hasn't come yet."

"Wat."

"No, I'm right here."

"Oh," Megan stated simply. "What happened to Typer?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

"It hasn't happened yet."

"Oh, I agree with Tesla: Wat."

"Like I said, I don't know. It thought you won."

"I thought you won."

"Well, I didn't." Tirek looked bored. "Gah, this is too much talking. I'm starting now."

The moon left the sky, leaving a dark blackness. The nine beams descended from that location. Tesla looked startled when she was hit. Megan was smart enough to discreetly toss the Rainbow of Light in with her.

The antilight faded, and the first thing Megan did was grab the necklace hanging awkwardly from Tesla's horn. Tirek must've caught on to what Megan was doing, and he rushed toward them, but in the panic, Tesla just cast the first spell that came to her mind.

The antilight faded again. Tesla looked fine, but she was grimacing and had her eyes closed like she was preparing to do some grueling task. Megan was in the same pose.

"Hmm, it didn't work again," Tirek pondered. "I must be losing my touch." He made no move to apprehend the human and unicorn. He looked over to them. "Ahh, pony, what are you doing? Your horn is glowing."

Tesla opened an eye and saw what was happening, which was nothing. Suddenly, her head started to throb with pain. That could mean only one thing. Typer was in trouble. The throbbing beated faster and faster. She didn't know what that meant.

It must have something to do with that spell, she thought. Then she started to view the spell matrix in her mind. She didn't recognize some of the elements of the construction. But in what context she saw, she could figure out what the spell did. Or should she say spells? She grinned as she cast one.

".gniwolg si nroh ruoY ?gniod uoy era tahw ,ynop ,hhA .hcuot ym gnisol eb tsem I .niaga krow t'ndid ti ,mmH" The immense river of time flowed backward. The moonbeam flickered back on over Tesla - wait, that would be, "the moonbeam flickered un-back off". She, who was unaffected along with Megan, cast the counter-spell, then cast another spell that she hoped would give them enough time to figure things out.

The windy rushing sensation Tesla got from the waves Darkness slowed to a stop. When all was still, she stepped out of the beam, forcing the magic particles out of her path, creating a pony-shaped hole. She giggled.

"How slow are we going here?" Megan asked.

"Faster than most magic, which means that we're also going faster than light!" Tesla poked the frozen pillar of Darkness and drew a smiley face. She got thrown into a giggling fit again. "Nothing is supposed to go faster than light, or all sense of time is lost!"

"I think we already experienced that at the Moochick's house..." Megan mumbled to herself. Wow, they really must be for each other. "Say, Tesla, how badly does your head hurt?"

"Hmm? Not at all... Oh, right. Typer."

"Could you speed up time just a bit until the moonbeam recedes?"

"Sure." The antilight faded away. Soon after, time grinded to a halt again. "Is this good?"

"Yeah. Does your head hurt now?"

"No. Should I try going back and forth a couple of times?" The two spent the next couple of "minutes" trying to figure out why Tesla couldn't feel Typer in trouble. Megan thought back to what she did with Typer.

"Let's see... He felt that time was messed up somehow, I told him why, he yelled at me to not do it ever again, then he told me that he knew time was wrong because he thought you were in trouble..."

"Yeah, but I'm not."

"I know, but that was before Tirek showed up. Can you get us back to the time when we woke up?"

"Sure, but because that was before I got this power, there would be a split and there would be another set of us."

"I don't think I care any more." Time reversed yet again, and it froze when they were back to the start.

"So what did you want to do this time?" Tesla asked.

Megan bent down to pick something up. "Close your eyes."

"What? Wh- OW MY FACE! YOU THREW A ROCK AT MY FACE!"

"Does your head hurt now?"

"Well, duh!" Tesla whined. Megan rolled her eyes. "Wait... I do feel something now. Yes, I feel that Typer is in fear."

"Good. Now go forward to the end of the moonbeam. That is when and where Typer is and I was."

* * *

"Uhh... Megan? He's right," Typer said. Megan was back to his loop, right where she was before, with Tirek nearly crushing Typer in his massive grip. She looked up to see which direction the center moonbeam was, then to the clockwise direction. Right behind Tirek.

"I don't know, Typer," Megan grinned. "There's more than one way to defeat someone." A loud cry came from where she expected, from behind Tirek.

Another Megan was hurtled over his head and at his hand by a yellow-tinted glow surrounding her. She was somehow able to land on his wrist and still be able to throw rocks at his eyes. The combined effect made Tirek release his grip on the white pony, and after Megan tumbled off and down the great height, all connections to the time magic were gone. The second Megan was carefully caught by Tesla's yellow-hued telekinetic magic. Typer fell on his face.

"Wow," said Megan 1. "I haven't actually seen myself in a loop before."

"Yeah," said Megan 2. "Me neither. Wait. Actually I did. Right now. And a while ago. At the same time. I am from the past, present, and future. Whatever you do, it gets written in my memories. Right now, I can remember myself talking from your viewpoint, but nothing after that until it happens."

"Woah."

"Yep."

"Time is awesome that way," Typer said, picking himself up off the ground. "So, what do we do next? I assume both Tireks are frozen?"

"Normally, the pony I'm with and I go into that moonbeam over there," Megan 1 explained as she pointed.

"But that's after that pony beats Tirek with her Element and their mutation or whatever disappears," Megan 2 told them.

"So we're not done yet?" asked Tesla.

"Not by a long shot," said a voice from behind them. Tirek was moving at the same speed in time as them. "Seems that another one of me has somehow figured out the spell cast on Typer and has cast it on me."

Another Tirek stepped up next to him. "You're welcome. Now there are two of us to beat."

"Well, we're in big trouble," Tesla whispered so that the Tireks couldn't hear her. "I want to try something drastic. When I say 'now', Megans, you get as  close to us as you can. Typer, cast a slowing time spell."

"Hey!" Typer complained. "I thought I usually call the shots! Wait, what do you mean 'slowing time spell'?"

"What? Can't you control the flow of time like I can?"

"No. If it is seriously because of my mind protection, I'm not happy. Though I guess it's better than ponies randomly dying everywhere." The Megans were about to ask what exactly Typer meant, but they were rudely interrupted by Tirek 2.

"What are you planning?" he said. "We'll just have to win this ourselves, Tirek. Come on." Both Tireks rushed forward. It was a mistake.

Tesla yelled "Now!" and she and Typer cast the first spell that came to their minds. The Tireks began to gradually slow down, but did not stop. It was like they were running in slow motion. They stopped and looked at each other, then started conversing at trying to figure out how to go at the same speed as them.

"How will we win this?" Megan 1 asked. "Do you have some sort of super special spell that we can use?"

Typer shook his head. "Sadly, no. Magic versus magic doesn't end well. Like fighting fire with fire. Everything burns down, and you only have a bigger fire. No, we have to rely only on only the hard facts of this world. We need to fight magic with science."

Typer motioned for Megan 1 to follow him. Megan 2 stayed with Tesla.

"Quickly," Tesla implored Megan. "What do you have in your pockets?" She pulled out a small piece of candy. "Good enough, I guess." She took the candy in her telekinetic hold. The candy started to condense into a smaller form, leaving small white grains of something and hairs of something else.

"What are you doing?" Megan asked.

"Do you see that picture on my flank?"

"The bottle thing with the green liquid?"

"Yes. That means that my special talent is potion making, but I also work with chemicals in general. I'm extracting the sugar from your candy to use in a potion. There also appears to be some rabbit hair, which I can also use." She concentrated on the ingredients, and more joined them, and a more intense glow came from it. Tesla started muttering to herself. "A stem of weed from Tartarus, the sugar of a child's candy, a hair from the most arrogant rabbit, the dust of the deepest electricity conducting ore, and the brightest glowing stone of night." A flash of light, and by her face floated an orb of shimmering liquid.

"Uhh... cool, a potion. What's it going to do? Give me Speed and Jump Boost?" Megan scoffed. She cupped her hands and the precious drops poured into her hands.

Tesla raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You might be surprised. Give it a try."

The effect was astounding. Megan actually felt like she was hit in the face with a brick (she already knew what it felt like). She covered her face and staggered backward. When she looked up again, she could see more, like someone turned on widescreen in real life.

"Now try walking." Tesla said coyly. Megan obeyed. After one step, she tripped over herself and fell about ten feet forward. "See what I mean?"

"Wow," Megan exclaimed. "Is that how brewing always works?"

Tesla shrugged. "Most of the time. Other times you just have to get creative."

"Okay. So the rabbit hair..." Megan questioned. Tesla nodded. After another landing on the face, Megan discovered that she could jump almost two meters straight up in the air.

"Okay, seriously, stop goofing off," one of the Tireks said. "I'm really starting to get annoyed."

Tesla looked over Typer and Megan 1, who gave the 'okay' sign with her fingers. Megan 2 gave a thumbs-up.

* * *

While Megan 2 stayed with Tesla, Megan 1 followed Typer.

"How much do you know about simple mechanisms?" he asked.

"If they’re simple, then probably enough," Megan 1 said.

"Good. That arranged assortment of lines and ovals to me means that everything in the universe can be make with a straight line or a curve."

"Really? To me it looks like numbers, and in that 8 row, 8 column pattern, it looks like bina-"

"No no no stop! No one needs to know about that! For now let's just say that it's how the universe is made."

"Fine, okay. What are we suppose to be doing, anyway?"

Typer looked oddly relieved at the change of topic. "Right. I'm hoping Tesla can provide some flash bombs or something. I want to turn some of these trees into catapults. Or something. Maybe bend them down and put some ammo at the end."

"But all of these trees are way too thick to bend at all. I should know, I've been thrown into them enough times."

"Ax." Typer's horn flashed, and a magic blade of bright blue light swiped up the trunk of the nearest tree. Branches fell like boulders off a cliff. When the blade reached the top, it came down through the center of the trunk, splitting it in half. The sections of wood became engulfed in a cyan glow. Rising and pointing straight up, the branches dropped into the dirt. "See? Ax. Magic is so much fun sometimes."

"Huwhaha?" Megan became unable to form intelligible thoughts. "Riiight. I think that we can kinda win this one."

"Okay, seriously, stop goofing off," one of the Tireks said. "I'm really starting to get annoyed."

Megan 2 gave Megan 1 a thumbs-up. She returned it with an 'okay' sign.

As if an invisible someone had yelled "Go!", the battle commenced. Megan 2 took to a strategy of running up the sides of trees and leaping from the tops of them onto the Tireks' heads, landing a few blows in the eyes and such. Megan 1 was loading Typer's makeshift weapons with sticks and stones, while Typer fired them at the Tireks. Tesla was making flashing smoke bombs with leaves and fine explosive powder, also hurtling them with her magic at the Tireks' faces.

Sometime into the fight, Megan 2 was knocked to the ground for the nth time. So far, the Tireks were only standing right-side-to-right-side in the center of the ring of forest and were surrounded on three sides by the attackers, but were otherwise unharmed, batting away the attacks with ease.

"This isn't working!" Megan 2 yelled to the others.

"I know!" Tesla replied, who had given up on blinding the Tireks and had just been tossing Typer's rock back to him. "This is crazy! We need another tactic! We're getting desperate!"

Megan 1 stopped putting rocks on the tops of the bent pieces of wood and jumped on top of the one Typer was currently holding down. Typer was almost startled enough to let go of the large branch, but he kept his stance.

"What are you doing?" he yelled.

"Something drastic," she replied calmly. "I need rope."

"What?"

"Can you make rope right now?"

Typer looked reluctant to answer. "Well, I guess it's possible to braid and re-braid long wood fibers together, but-"

"Do it."

Typer's horn lit up, and the blade Megan saw before appeared again. Swiftly yet carefully, most of the surrounding branches floated up and were sliced into threads. When enough were made, Typer pulled several taut and wound them together, starting from the top down. When about a meter was finished a second later, Megan grasped an end and kicked Typer's hooves so that the branch she was standing on became unbent, sending her arcing past one Tirek's chest. Typer had a hard time keeping up, but he kept winding new rope into one, continuous strand.

Megan 2 saw her counterpart fly from her position on the ground. She facepalmed herself, seeing that at her height, Megan 1 would not survive the descent without help. Megan 2 started sprinting along the perimeter as fast as she could. When she reached a high enough speed, she got closer to the trees until she began running sideways on the trunks of the trees. Her own height climbed as she started to rise up the sides, still running around the interior of the circle.

Her timing had to be perfect. The point on which she jumped from was on the rope's side of the Tireks, and about 80° from where Typer was in the circle. It didn't take much, but her feet left the trunks as she aimed for the woven strands of fiber. She was able to successfully grasp the rope, which was yanked from Typer's magical grasp. The center section was pulled tight to a very surprised Tirek's body, acting like a pivot point. Megan 2's end swung around both Tireks clockwise as Megan 1 was saved from her fall and was pulled back slightly and swung counterclockwise. The Megans were tying the Tireks' arms to their sides and the Tireks together.

Typer and Tesla saw what the Megans were doing and looked at each other, waiting for a signal. Typer made another strand of rope and tied it to a small rock. He used the last remaining makeshift catapult and launched the rock toward Tesla through the Tireks' legs. She walked behind a tree, spun around, and bucked the rock back at an angle so that the rope went around the tree, yet the rock was sent back to the other side of the clearing. Typer ran a bit away and bucked the rock back in a similar fashion. The two unicorns ping-ponged back and forth until they had went around the circle and were back to their starting positions. They had created a half web/half star shape with the rope.

The Megans had slowed their swinging speed, and Megan 2 had taken hold of Megan 1 and jumped down to the ground. The Tireks were strapped together, their arms were tied to their sides, and in any direction they stepped in, they would trip and fall. Tesla used the last bit of sugar for one more potion of swiftness. She hurled the compound at their legs. Not only did it make them both have their hooves slide out from under them, but the force they hit the web with was so great, the areas of the rope that were around the trees snapped, forcing the rest of it to recoil and wrap around the Tireks' legs. They fell to the ground on their sides, dazed.

Typer trotted up next to their heads. "See, Tirek?" The next line he whispered in their ears. "Magic can't win over the unchangeable laws of the universe. Science."

An awesome eruption of bright green light, brighter than any other endgame spell Megan had witnessed in the past five loops, violently exploded outward from Typer and Tesla.

The light faded. The two humans and two ponies were sitting in the clearing. Neither Tirek was to be found.

Tesla suddenly gasped. "Oh, Typer! Do you feel that?"

Typer sat still for a moment. He felt nothing but the cool summer breeze, rustling the leaves. "Nothing but the wind."

"Exactly! The wind! We're moving at normal speed again!"

Typer rolled his eyes, but with a smile. Only she would be excited about wind. Typer turned to the Megans. "As you girls may know, we have to keep time the same events that should've happened, otherwise there would be a paradox." His horn flashed, and a stapled set of papers appeared. "I have one copy of the original, historical transcript. Keep it safe. This is what you must tell the ponies after we have left." Both Megans agreed, and Megan 2 folded the papers and placed them in her pocket.

The four beings chatted about things like time and Megan's experiences on the way to the center moonbeam. Tesla memorized her story for later publication when they got back to their own age. Typer asked what the Megans thought about the next loop. Both Megans said that they were somewhat frightened, because it was Tirek's last chance to win, and he was getting desperate. But it was time. They were at the moonbeam. They walked into the beam, but not before Typer could have sworn he saw a pair of yellow eyes with oddly-sized, red pupils.

Two humans and two ponies stepped forward into the moonbeam and saw six other human/pony pairs.