What do you see when you close your eyes? What do you hear?
I see an upheaval. A fresh mind, a vast power assuming control.
I hear the old putting up a valiant, though ultimately futile fight.
A world left scarred... And shattered.
Only to be healed and reunited under this new power.
So, my dear, what I see is progress. The aftermath of an oncoming storm.
What comes of the destruction, is change, and when the world rebuilds, it will be stronger for it.
What I hear, is praise. Not at first, mind you. For a while, this new power will be seen as evil, sent to undo what everyone believes to be ultimate good.
In time, that changes.
That is what I see when I close my eyes. That is what I hear.
What about yourself?
Chapter 9: For what purpose.
Abandoned buildings aren't all that common in Equestria. If a space isn't being used, the eco friendly earth ponies knock the place down and recycle the materials. This was a habit formed long before the union of the three races, when the earth ponies couldn't afford to be wasteful with their resources.
With this in mind, it was a stroke of good fortune for Arc and Chimera to have come across a long since lived in barn, that was still structurally sound, and a good deal out of the way of any densely populated areas. Very handy when one is in hiding.
Once settled in, Chimera decided she should give her owed explanation, after snatching Arc away so suddenly. Before she had a chance to begin, however, Arc had already gone off on his own inspection of the barn. "This is exactly the kind of thing I need for when I'm off the stage! Big, open and out of the way. Absolutely perfect!" he pressed his face and ear up to the wall and rapped it firmly three times with his right forehoof.
Chimera looked on in a confused silence, watching a blue blur rush about, examining every inch of the structure. It wasn't until after Arc had mentioned having his team bring all of his equipment in that Chimera decided to finally speak up. "What? No. Just- Come back here and sit still for a few moments so I can tell you why you're here!" her obvious irritation caught the colt's attention, bringing him to a halt a meter to her front.
"Right, sorry, go ahead." Arc grinned sheepishly and sat at attention.
Chimera responded with the roll of her eyes. "Good. Now stay there." a faint chiming sound that accompanied the use of magic sounded and the large book Arc recalled being shown before, lifted from Chimera's saddle bag, shrouded in golden magic. "You've met Index. Essentially, this book is the reason I need your help."
"Right, right. Index. The book that talks. Hello again!" Arc waved his hoof in the book's general direction. "I take it this talking book has something special written in its pages?"
"Actually, yes. Quite special. It's a book of magic." Chimera flipped it open to a random page, an in depth analysis on how pegasi are able to walk on clouds, and how a wielder can mimic these conditions with ease.
"Not just any type of magic. There's a reason you had to take me, of all the unicorns in Canterlot. Right?" Arc's usual grin sat comfortably on his face.
The unexpectedly informed replies Chimera was receiving from the eccentric blue unicorn before her was surprising, to say the least. "Um... Yes, exactly. You're smarter than you look."
"Really? Cheers. Out of curiosity, how smart do I look?" His expression never changed, save for his eyes. The eyebrows bent into a look of intrigue.
"...The magic this book teaches can only be used by unicorns that are born with the right... stuff." Not exactly an informative explanation, but Chimera figures it serves its purpose. "You're the fifth I've brought the book to. The only one to hear it."
"So..." Arc scratched the back of his neck and flipped absentmindedly through the pages. "Only the unicorns that can use the book, can hear it?"
"That's the gist of it. Though, this was kinda a special situation." Chimera flipped the pages to the very last, with the list of every wielder to have ever owned a book. "See how I already have a name next to mine? In order to first activate the book, you need to have a partner. Solius was... He was my partner. We found Index in an antique store. The shop-keep sold it to us for 30 bits, thinking it was just a really old and ornate diary, because before we activated it, the entire book was empty. Only the first page had anything written on it, and it was written in french. They were instructions on how to perform a spell of unlocking, that required two 'chosen' unicorns. You following all this?"
Arc nodded once and gestured for Chimera to continue.
"These books... They have personalities. Index, for example, craves companionship. It drew both Solius and I to that store, we met, discussed the voices we were both hearing and in turn, we activated the book and began learning what it had to teach. Here's the thing, once two wielders have claimed their book, only they can hear it from then on. There's a reason why you're able to hear it, I'll get to that shortly." She slid her hoof down and tapped it twice on the names of Twilight and Trixie. "These two only very recently found their book. Decent pair. Not sure what they are to one another, if I had to guess, they were sisters. The way they bicker when I drop in to watch them from time to time." Her hoof slid back up and over to another set of names. She tapped the one that was not crossed out and frowned. "This is Rapacity. I've no idea how long he's had his book, but he's had it long enough to build up some serious power... He's the one responsible for Solius's death. He's the reason I need your help."
A few short seconds of silence fell over the room, interrupted by Arc's soft chuckling. "So, you wish to pull me into a battle I know nothing about, to avenge the death of your old partner? Okay. Why, though? You've got those other two to help, don't you?"
"I know it's not yo- Okay? You'll do it? Just like that?" Chimera looked dumbfounded.
"Well, not exactly 'Just like that'." Arc gently nudged her hoof off of the page and flipped it back over to a section he had been reading prior. "'Controlling the elements: Electricity.'" He read the title of the chapter aloud and grinned. "I'm intrigued. And I figure it might be worth sticking around to help you out! So. You were going to explain why I can hear the book, now?"
"I uh... Wow, thanks, I think..." Unable to figure out what expression she should be wearing for Arc, Chimera settled for a friendly, albeit slightly confused smile. "The reason these books require a pair to be activated, is because wielders work best in a team. That isn't to say you can't learn from the book, but there's something about having two of us that accelerates our development. Though the explanation for this is probably deeply rooted within the magic of the second path, I like to think that having a little friendly competition is beneficial." She chuckled softly and shrugged. "As I've already said, once the pair activates the book, only they can hear it. But in the event that one of the two passes on, a replacement can be found. Not easily, mind you. Index was able to call for us, back before we found it. He wasn't able to do that with you, so I had to do this all manually. Figured I would start with unicorns that were known for their magical prowess." As she said this, she gestured to him. "Fifth time's the charm."
"Then, I'm special, eh?" Arc laughed heartily and rubbed his fore-hooves together.
Chimera rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, you're special, alright. Now, if you'll be so kind as to sign yourself into the book with a little pulse of magic, we can get this show on the road."
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I know, I know. Short chapter. But I really needed to get this little bit of story development out there. Now that I have, I can move on to a little more action.