Impossibilities

Chapter Two

Revelations

()()()

"Send in the flyers," he said, smiling a terrible smile. "We shall soon see how good Mr. Brindley and Mr. Lane really are."

"Yes, sir," the man on the other end replied.

"Good, good." The man sitting in the armchair turned the intercom off, and fixated himself back on the television screen. "Have at it, then, good sirs."

()()()

"Going even further, I also…" Herobrine continued, not even having stopped to breathe at any point whatsoever.

"Okay, will you seriously please stop talking?" Simon asked, trying to interrupt Herobrine's spiel.

"Well, excuse me for trying to offer an explanation."

"But you haven't even said anything, really!" Lewis replied.

"Yeah, well…"

"What are you all talking about?" Rainbow Dash demanded, walking back to Herobrine.

She was interrupted by what seemed to be the sound of several jet engines screaming across the sky. Obviously, however, ponies do not have jet engines, so there was only one other thing it could have been.

"The Wonderbolts? Here?" Rainbow Dash was simultaneously excited and bewildered; they never did unannounced performances. It could have been practice, but Dash had never seen them leave Canterlot. She looked up to confirm whether or not they were, in fact, the Wonderbolts. There were four of them, and from their current height, they certainly appeared to be. But as they did a nosedive towards Simon and Lewis, it became obvious that they were something else entirely. She realized with dread that they were the Shadowbolts, a group of false apparitions she met in the Everfree Forest that tried to stop the ponies journey to defeat Nightmare Moon. Their outfits were spandex, and closely resembled the real-life Blue Angels.

"The Shadowbolts? But…how?"

"Who are the Shadow…" Lewis' question was interrupted when two of them plucked him off the ground and flew off with him at great speed.

"Lewis!" Simon shouted, before almost instantly suffering the same fate.

"Damn it!" Jack shouted, bringing his wings out. "They got them! Rainbow Dash, follow me. We need to save them!" He flew off after them, leaving Herobrine and a quite bewildered pegasus.

"Uh…wait up!" Rainbow Dash put her wings out, and sped off into the air, not knowing what else to do.

"Yeah," Herobrine said, "you do that."

()()()

"Lewis, what the hell do we do?" Simon yelled, his voice shaking with fear.

"I don't know!" Lewis replied, his eyes completely shut to not see what was going on below him. He opened them for just a moment, and closed them immediately, having seen what was going on below. They were flying at least fifty miles per hour, several hundred feet in the air, and were very afraid for their lives.

"Wait, Lewis, you can use magic, can't you?"

"I…well, yeah, but I don't know anything about it!"

"Improvise!"

"Uh…uh…" Lewis began thinking as hard as he could. Surprisingly, this had an effect: a bright light, similar to burning magnesium. This was enough to momentarily blind the flyers, causing them to release the two ponies. This did not particularly improve their situation, as they were now hurtling towards the ground at a rapid pace. They closed their eyes, started to scream, and expected the worst to happen…but it didn't. Rainbow Dash and Jack had flown under them just in time to prevent them from turning into a large red puddle.

"What?" Simon was utterly incredulous. "We're alive?"

"You're welcome," Jack said, floating slowly to the ground.

"I thought they were just apparitions or something. How did they come back?" Rainbow Dash asked, regarding the Shadowbolts.

"I guess Baron Von Schadenfreude just liked the idea…" Jack responded.

"Wait, who?" Simon had never heard of anyone named Schadenfreude, baron or otherwise.

Jack sighed. "We need to get to Twilight Sparkle. I'll explain everything there. Just follow me…again."

He started to walk off, and the three others followed him. They did not realize somebody was watching them…

()()()

"Yes," the man hidden in shadows said, "perfect. The Shadowbolts performed their jobs exceptionally well, all things considered."

The man got out of his chair, and switched the television off, plunging the room completely into darkness.

"My, it's dreary in here. Lights!"

At his voice command, the lights turned on, revealing exactly who the man was; a tall, thin, older looking gentleman. He was wearing a perfectly formed tuxedo of the finest threads in the world, with ruby studded buttons and cufflinks. His oxford shoes were of the best possible black leather, highlighted by 24-carat gold trim and lacing. His bowler hat was of similarly perfect black leather, although it lacked any gold trim. Perhaps the most striking item on his person was the carved ruby, gold trimmed, pince-nez monocle over his right eye. Overall, he easily gave off the impression that he was a man of wealth and taste.

"Much better. Now, then, to business."

The man walked out of the room with a dignified gait, into a hallway with several other doors in it. Some of them were placed so close together that it shouldn't have been possible for them to contain rooms of any reasonable size.

"Now, which room was that portal in? Oh, yes, the one directly opposite the aeroplane hangar." He took the door to his left, revealing a large control room. Several men in labcoats were entering various things into a large metal circle, with a bizarre white swirl contained within. It was obviously some sort of portal device, although how it worked was anyone's guess. One of the scientists, a bald, thin man, left what he was doing and walked to the man in the tuxedo.

"We have coordinates entered, my lord," he said, in a gritty Russian accent. "It is ready when you are."

"Good. Soon enough, they will know the name of," the man paused for effect, "Baron Vlad Klaus Von Schadenfreude."

"Will you require your blade?"

"No, I do not believe that is necessary." Without another word, Schadenfreude walked through the portal, immediately being teleported to a faraway land…

()()()

"Spike, did you find that book I asked for?"

If you've been paying attention, or have watched My Little Pony, you will know exactly who I'm talking about. If you have done neither, well, you really don't have much business being here. Out of courtesy, though, I'll give you a description of her. Her name was, if you haven't guessed, Twilight Sparkle, and no, she isn't a vampire. Her name matched her appearance, though: violet fur, and a darker purple for the mane, which was actually very close to black. A single pink streak ran through it, which was rather jarring. In addition, she had a horn allowing her to use powerful magic. The 'Sparkle' part of her name came in at her cutie mark: a diamond-shaped sparkle.

"Spike?" She asked again.

"Hold on!" An unseen, yet clearly male voice responded. Most people would pin it at about ten years of age; this would be a very accurate guess.

"Spike! I really need that book!"

"Wait, I found it!"

Quickly after this announcement, a rather small purple dragon with a sea green belly and normal green spines walked in, holding a tome of some esoteric knowledge.

"Oh, thank you." Using her magic telekinesis, Twilight picked up the book and turned to a page in the middle to locate…something. She didn't get very far before a knock on the door interrupted her study.

"Spike, could you get that?" she asked, not entirely paying attention.

"Sure thing!"

He walked over to the door and pulled it open, instantly being confronted with three ponies he didn't recognize, along with Rainbow Dash.

"Uh…can I help you?" Spike asked warily.

Jack stepped forward. "May we come in? We need some help."

"Sure?"

"Oh, hello," Twilight said, only half-aware of her surroundings, if even. "Where is that passage? I know it's in here somewhere."

"Try page two-hundred and seven," Jack said nonchalantly.

"Hm?" Twilight turned to that page, and found what she was looking for: a spell related to the teleportation of objects. "Oh, thank you!" She started reading the passage, before realizing something very important. "How did you know what page that was on?"

"I know many things," Jack answered. "I also know that if you don't help me, Equestria will be doomed."

"What?" Twilight shut the book in surprise and let it drop. "What do you mean?"

"Allow me to explain. Simon, Lewis, Dash, get in here. You all need to hear this."

"Okay, what are you talking about?" Dash couldn't figure out what he was saying. Doomed? Something doomed Equestria every other week.

"I said I'd explain. Remember the Shadowbolts that attacked us?"

"I'd rather not," Lewis said.

"Well, those weren't the originals. They were clones, created by Baron Von Schadenfreude."

"Well, who's that, then?"

"Ah, sorry, I got ahead of myself. First, I have to say this. Twilight, Dash, both of you are technically fictional characters."

"But…I'm real!" Dash insisted.

"Yes, you are. But in another universe, the one I came from, your story and many others are considered to be just that; stories, though they really happened, in the according universe."

"Whoa..." Dash said, completely amazed. Was he telling the truth? If so, a lot of people knew who she was. That would certainly be awesome.

"There are hundreds of such 'fictional' universes. I had a great interest in many of them. I was not what anybody would call average; I had received training from some of the greatest martial artists in the world. Then, one day, I found a letter in my apartment. It didn't have a stamp, or a return address, or anything distinctive."

"What did it say?" Twilight asked.

"It said that I had been chosen by the gods of fiction to protect these universes from destruction by a god that had been struck down from his throne. He was a terrible evil, and tried to kill the other gods and seize their power, but he failed when he was struck down by an ancient weapon that was later locked away to prevent it getting into the wrong hands."

He paused as he attempted to recall the next events.

"After he was defeated, he went into hiding, and forged himself a terrible weapon, capable of defeating the one that defeated him. Using what little magic power he had left, he went to various universes, and received training. Eventually, he was able to regain his power, and started forming a team of people he met on his travels. He then gave himself a new name: Baron Vlad Klaus Von Schadenfreude. When the gods received word that he was back, they formed a team of their own, which I was to be the leader of."

"But…why you?"

"I was courageous. I was strong. It also helped that I never missed a shot with any weapon. I've already gotten some people on my team, and the Baron was worried, so he started seeing if he could draw people in from the 'real' universe, the same one I came from. Evidently, it worked."

"So…Herobrine is working for the Baron?" Lewis asked.

"Yeah, and he's not the only one. He wanted to add you to his ranks, mostly as powerful cannon fodder. 'Real' people can't be hurt as easily in fictional universes, especially ones they're familiar with."

Jack paused again.

"Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley. Each of you worked together to tell a great story. Rainbow Dash, your courage and willingness is all but unmatched by anybody, even me. For this, I would like you to join my team: The Protectors."

Everybody else stared at him for a few moments, completely incredulous for various reasons.

"That's…not possible!" Twilight said. "We're fictional, and at the same time not fictional?"

"Hey, what about our fiction?" Spike demanded.

"I'd…rather not get into that, it gets extremely complicated."

"Indeed it does,"a cruel, sharp voice said from behind them.

"Oh, damn." Jack turned around, knowing exactly what to expect. There he was, wearing the same ruby monocle and bowler hat. His fur was darker than midnight, and his mane was redder than blood. It seemed impossible, but he possessed wings and a horn simultaneously. It was thought that only those of royal origins could have them both, and he certainly was not of royal origins. His cutie mark was quite disturbing and strange to the ponies: a human skull and crossbones, splattered with red. He was wearing a suit much like the one he wore normally, although it had a gap to show his cutie mark. He was not, however, wearing any shoes.

"Surely Jack has told you all about me?" He asked, smiling.

"What…how do you have wings and a horn? That's not possible for a normal pony!" Twilight insisted.

"Ah, yes, Twilight, but you see, I am far from normal. My magic power surpasses even yours. Dare I say it, it's greater than Celestia's!"

He began laughing, and used his magic to pull out a golden pocket watch.

"Oh, dear, I'm running late. I suppose I'll deal with you later; I wouldn't want to stand up a royal, now, would I?"

Still laughing, he flew out an open window, heading directly for Canterlot.

"What does he mean, stand up a royal?" Simon asked, his voice wavering.

"I think, don't quote me on this, he'll try to dethrone, as in murder, Princess Celestia and Luna, and seize control of Equestria, as in plunge it into an eternal dark hellscape."

Twilight gasped, as did Rainbow Dash. "What? Murder? This is impossible! Something must be done! The princess must be warned right away!"

"Don't get your saddle in a twist, Twilight. I've stopped him from doing things like this before." Then, under his breath, he whispered, "Barely."

"And I'm here to help!" Yet another new voice, this was an offensively exaggerated thick Cockney dialect, almost uninterpretable in it's form.

"Who are you?" Dash asked, her legs shaking quite violently.

"I'm Electrical Beast, AKA Adam, AKA the Jolteon of protecting fictional works!"

"We're doomed." Clearly, Twilight did not have high hopes.

()()()

Yes, EB is a member of the Protectors. Next time, the first battle! Until then, AwkwardVulpix, over and out.