89. Partholon's Delusion

NEBULAPOLIS, RAGNANIVAL, ASGARD

Twilight was quickly coming to the realization that the problem with falling asleep long past midnight and waking up in the early afternoon was the simple recurrence of waking up to the middle of situations.

The call to awaken was delivered by Thor. "Arise!" he yelled down the hall. "Father is arranging a call to arms!"

"We're going to give those bloody ice barbarians what they deserve!" Loki added.

"Ugh…" Twilight hauled herself out of bed. "All right, I'll be at the call to arms in just a…wait, WHAT? A CALL TO ARMS?"

In a panic, she skidded out into the hall; the others were all waking and emerging around her. "Odin's declaring war ALREADY?" Twilight sputtered.

"FINALLY!" Thorgil cried joyously.

"That is NOT a good thing!" Jack hissed at her.

"We have technically been at war since the strike on Ringford," Thor pointed out. "And I, too, wish to see the Jötunns brought to justice. My father is addressing his army on the palace steps. We would do well to join the crowd."

"I…" Twilight shook her head. "Something about this doesn't feel right. It's too soon."

"It's Odin's decision," Applejack reminded her, "and we gotta hear him out."

Twilight nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

...

Odin and Frigga stood at the top of the palace steps, armed regally in order to address the crowd formally. Around the steps' base had gathered a great throng of warriors bearing sword, shield, spear, and bow and outfitted in gleaming armor. The Valkyries had grouped to one side. The group containing Thor, Loki, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, Gwendolyn, Oswald, Velvet, Cornelius, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Thorgil, and Jack slipped in at the other side. Rainbow Dash wondered why Gwendolyn wasn't standing with the other Valkyries, but shrugged it off. It was probably more important that she stand with her family.

Odin raised his hands to silence the crowd. "As you have heard," he announced, "in this past day, the Jötunns have compromised our peace treaty with several raids on Asgardian ground. The terms were well known that such an intrusion would invite war. We must retaliate, lest they believe us weak, unwilling to follow through on what we threaten, and return to destroy what we have left.

"As you know, ever since the Cauldron wars, the Ragnanival army has not been as strong as it once was. Our numbers are much fewer."

At this, Rainbow Dash surveyed the crowd, perplexed. If this was a small army, she wondered, what did the original one look like?

"In this state, we would surely lose as soon as we struck," Odin continued.

That prompted Rainbow Dash to wonder how big the Jötunn army even was.

"Before we may be prepared to move," Odin announced, "we must gather allies. The reserves from Titania must be brought to bolster our ranks, and a proposal must be brought to the Ringfordians to set aside the swords we have pointed at each other in order to aim our blades at the true enemy. I also trust that Brunhilde will be contacted at her rogue Valkyrie training ground and asked to lend us the rest of her ranks."

"I thought Brunhilde was Odin's ally," Rarity whispered to Gwendolyn. Yes, it was a question based on what she had seen in the future of that world, but she figured Brunhilde was of common enough knowledge that the question would not seem too out of place.

"She is," Gwendolyn replied. "Though tentatively. She does not have an appreciation for men, least of all those in royalty. Her loyalty began here, but she wished to see if she could operate on her own, with her own troops. This will not make her happy, but if anything will win her and the Valkyries that are loyal to her to our side, it will be this war."

Rarity nodded, marveling at how things changed.

"Emissaries will also be sent to Vanaheim," Odin continued. "But in order to truly secure victory…I wish to enlist the help of our allies in Alfheim and Notland. With these armies combined, doubtless we can storm Jötunheim and end these raids."

"By destroying the entire mountain hall," Jack whispered under his breath.

"Those of you I have tasked with the journeys to Titania, Ringford, Vanaheim, and Brunhilde's camp, you all know what you must do," Odin ordered. "Those tasked with carrying alliance requests to Alfheim and Notland shall receive their orders soon. Go forth. There is no time to waste."

The soldiers dispersed, leaving the party of eighteen in the emptying out area.

"I don't know if this is right," Fluttershy said nervously. "This is a war. A real war. Should we be doing this?"

"I don't know either," Twilight admitted. "I'm really just…confused. I mean, going to WAR isn't exactly what we stand for. But at the same time…"

"At the same time," Rainbow Dash interrupted, "the Jötunns are hurting our friends! We gotta do SOMETHING to protect them!"

"Exactly." Twilight nodded. "Maybe it's not right to take a side. But the fact is, we've already taken one. The side of our friends."

"But what about…" Applejack subtly nodded her head toward Loki.

Twilight pulled her aside to whisper to her. "First of all, he seems to be different right now than he was. Or will be. But even if he hasn't changed a bit in a thousand years, he's standing on the same side as Thor, Sif, Gwendolyn, Jack, and Thorgil. If we don't do it for him, we have to do it for them."

"I don't suppose you want to share whatever you're whispering about with Napplejack to the entire class!" Loki called out to Twilight.

Applejack gritted her teeth. "Sometimes, I hate when you make sense," she told Twilight in a low tone.

The two turned back to the group. "I think it's decided," Twilight said. "Does everypony agree?"

Rarity nodded. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash nodded even more enthusiastically.

"I wish there were just some way around this," Fluttershy bemoaned. "Some way we could figure out who the bad guys were and go up against them instead of an entire world. But Rainbow is right. We have to help you so that a raid like that doesn't happen again." She scowled. "But we're not killing anypony, no matter what happens."

"How do you expect to help us if you don't want to get your blades dirty?" Fandral asked indignantly.

"It is very easy to get caught up in a war, fighting for what you believe is right, only to realize you are on the wrong side," Oswald rebutted. "I would no sooner wish that on anyone else than I would relive it. They are new to our realm and our conflicts. It is best if they can weather this situation with as little sin on their consciences as they can achieve."

"Besides," Thor pointed out, "their weapons are somehow capable of sapping the strength of enemies without dealing true damage. That alone allows them to be of great use on the battlefield."

"Now, if only I had a real weapon…" Thorgil grunted.

Thor glimpsed a familiar figure descending the palace steps and nearing the party. "Hush," he ordered. "Mother approaches."

Frigga stood before the eighteen, looking them over. "You heard our orders," she reiterated.

Thor nodded. "Yes, Mother."

"In preparation for this strike," Frigga stated, "Odin and I thought it best to assign you…all of you who stand here…a particularly important task. I trust you are willing to take on a great responsibility."

"Aye," Thor answered.

"Yup yup!" Pinkie Pie added.

The others nodded or murmured assent.

"Odin and I have decided it would be best to propose a diplomatic mission for you," Frigga explained. "Most of our allies will readily help us, but we have not spoken with Alfheim or Notland in any great quantity since the Cauldron Wars long ago. Approaching them will require diplomacy. The sort of diplomacy found in royalty, bearers of harmony, and bards."

"You wish to send us as emissaries to Alfheim and Notland!" Loki realized out loud.

"Notland…" Jack's face turned pale.

Frigga nodded. "Indeed. If thou art still up for the task. Your mission would be to contact King Partholon and Queen Partholis of the elves and the Shoney and Shair Shair of the fin-folk, asking them to lend us their armies for this conflict."

Jack and Thorgil both made sour faces.

"Excuse me," Rarity broke in.

Frigga gave Rarity a nod, encouraging her to speak.

"What do YOU think about all this war business?" Rarity asked.

"I fear it is to be a necessary evil," Frigga answered. "I wish it could be another way, yet from where I stand, I can see no other solution. Therefore I shall sharpen my blade to defend my realm."

"I did not think this task would send us to Midgard," Volstagg huffed.

"Wait…where does Midgard play into this?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"Notland is located in Midgard," Gwendolyn explained. "The fin-folk are distant from the Midgardians, and they have a long history with Ran and Aegir."

"They are rather…tenuous allies," Cornelius admitted, "but if we can persuade them to help us, their forces will be most helpful."

"We gladly accept this task, Mother," Thor said with a slight bow.

"I am pleased to hear that," Frigga replied, smiling. "You will have access to the armory and wardrobe for as much as you need to outfit yourselves."

"Did you say WARDROBE?" Rarity's eyes sparkled, and she practically salivated.

"Did you say ARMORY?" Thorgil beamed.

"We'll make proper warriors out of all of you yet," Fandral commented.

"Heyyyy!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "We already are proper warriors!"

"I must take leave," Frigga told the group. "I thank thee for thy assistance and I trust thee with this task. Go with my blessings."

She turned to make her way back to the palace.

"I can't believe it," Jack groaned. "I thought I was quite done with Alfheim and Notland. I'm not on good terms with Partholon, Partholis, the Shoney, or Shair Shair…"

"So, who ARE you on good terms with?" Loki asked mockingly. "Surely you have one distant relative somewhere whom you like…and I'm willing to wager that's it."

"I like him well enough," Thorgil defended. "For a weakling thrall. And I'm fairly certain he likes me."

"I do," Jack said softly, and it was hard to miss the red creeping up onto his cheeks.

"You needn't fear the royalty of Alfheim or Notland," Thor reassured him. "You will be escorted to both realms under the protection of the Ragnanival royalty. They would not dare strike against you so long as you came in our company."

"I hope so," Jack said nervously.

"Besides," Thor continued, "we shall arm you well enough to defend yourself."

"I wouldn't mind a change of clothing," Jack replied, "but I'm not interested in any weapon other than Columba's staff. Also, I insist upon keeping his cloak."

"Then you shall have both those things," Thor replied. "In the meantime, we must go to the armory soon in order to be at the Bifrost in enough time to cross the bridge to Alfheim and return."

"TO THE ARMORY!" Pinkie Pie screamed, throwing an arm in the air, pointer finger extended.

"TO THE ARMORY!" the Warriors Three chorused.

...

Before the armory, the group attended to wardrobe. A side chamber was reserved and cordoned off with curtains, and Thor, Loki, and Gwendolyn brought in a great array of clothing.

"Something here should fit," Gwendolyn assured.

Jack was the first to find a simple, short blue tunic and brown trousers, taking them behind the curtain to slip on. When he emerged, he bore St. Columba's magnificent cloak over the ensemble, and for all it had been through, it showed not one sign of wear, its patterns still brightly colored as ever and every thread in place.

Thorgil took an outfit of similar cut to Jack's, but blue throughout. When she stepped out into the chamber's center, she discovered a full-length mirror that Gwendolyn had planted for those recently dressed to look at themselves in. "Hmmm…" She twisted from side to side to see how she looked. She noted Jack pulling on a pair of short black boots, and she selected the thickest pair she could find to finish off her outfit. Looking in the mirror, she still didn't seem satisfied. "I need a sword," she stated.

"Weapons will come later," Sif reminded her.

"No…just to borrow," Thorgil clarified. "Yours would do. I'll give it right back."

"All right…" Sif gingerly drew her sword, handing it to Thorgil.

Thorgil sat down on the floor, cross-legged, eyeing the mirror for reference. Then she took the sword to her hair, sawing it unevenly through the golden locks that tumbled to the tile. After doing this for a good five minutes, she succeeded in trimming her hair close to her head, though rather shaggily. She then stood and handed the sword back to Sif, quite pleased with herself.

"And to think," Jack remarked, "I was almost starting to be unable to recognize you because you were actually starting to look like a girl."

"Ha," Thorgil replied coldly.

"Er…" Sif's eyes were glued to the blonde hair that was scattered across the tile.

"Well, don't look at me," Loki snapped at her. "Do I look like a dustpan wench?"

"All right…" Applejack announced, "I think I got it!" She emerged from her curtained section clothed in a long tunic of green with brown sleeves, belts crossed over the upper half of the bodice. Beneath that, she wore loose brown trousers and brown boots.

"Uhm…does this work?" Fluttershy stepped out clothed in a flowing pale yellow tunic embroidered and sashed with hues of various greens; a long, grass-green skirt flowed below, just high enough to show off Fluttershy's own boots of beige.

"WHEEEEE!" Pinkie Pie bounded out into the center of the room clad in a tight white tunic embroidered with pink; an intricate belt of pink and blue was looped around it at the upper waist. She had chosen a long white skirt with a great slit up either side, and instead of boots, she'd opted for brown leather sandals. She topped it off with a woolen pink hat edged in white.

"TA-DAAAAA!" Rarity emerged, throwing back the curtains of her section, clothed in a white dress with flowing sleeves and a low neckline off both shoulders. Red edged the entire ensemble, and a rose red cloth draped over the skirt from a crimson sash. The skirt itself stopped around Rarity's knees; her feet were also sandaled. Her expression changed from one of pride to one of disgust as soon as she noted what her comrades were wearing. "Really, Applejack? But it's so drab!"

"And functional," Applejack pointed out.

"Fluttershy, I'm not sure how you don't expect to trip over that skirt," Rarity went on.

"Um…I haven't tripped over my other skirts so far…" Fluttershy argued.

"And Pinkie Pie…" Rarity sighed. "That hat?"

"I like it!" Pinkie patted the hat. "It's warm and fuzzy!"

"Well," Rarity resolved, "I suppose there's no accounting for…all right, WHY is there hair all over the floor?"

"All right," Rainbow Dash announced, stepping out of her curtained area, "I'm ready to go!" She'd managed to incorporate most colors into her outfit: a black sleeveless tunic, green trousers, blue wrappings around the ankles, spare purple boots, white wrappings around her arms.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash…" Rarity groaned. "Literally NOTHING matches…"

"It'll look better with armor on," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Rarity," Twilight sighed, entering the center of the room herself, "you don't HAVE to pick at all of our outfits, you know."

"I just feel much more comfortable when I'm the one making them!" Rarity argued. "I know exactly how to balance what you need with what looks good on you – why, TWILIGHT! That's so stylistically simple! I adore it!"

Twilight had chosen a sleeveless, sky-blue tunic, throwing a white shawl over its shoulders. A dark brown leather belt hung from the waist, and a lighter brown skirt composed of pointed leather strips fitted together stopped far above her knees. Beneath that, Twilight had covered her legs with beige leggings, and over her feet were leather sandals that laced halfway up to her knees.

"Thanks," Twilight replied, blushing a little.

After all new clothing was chosen, the group moved toward the armory. Jack refused to pick out any armor or weaponry, clinging to St. Columba's staff tightly. The six Equestrians also declined weapons, having plenty of their own, but searched through the armor for extra protection.

Thorgil immediately loaded up: bronze helm, breastplate, epaulets. She then gave every spear on the wall rack a good once-over before selecting one suited for her size; she swung it a few times ("Hey! WATCH IT!" Rainbow Dash cried, ducking) to make sure its weight was correct. "You know," she said, "I'm somewhat famous with a spear. The birds back home used to call me Pecks-From-Afar."

"ONE albatross did," Jack corrected.

Applejack picked out a simple bronze helm and light epaulets. Fluttershy's bronze helm was slightly more ornate, wings carved into its side; she took nothing else. Rarity chose a more intricately carved helm, steel and bronze overlaid with a feather design. Rainbow Dash took the thickest helm of bronze available, as well as a gleaming breastplate and heavy epaulets in a matching tone. Twilight contented herself with a steel helm adorned with simple curls and feathers, tucking a navy blue leather breastplate between tunic and shawl.

"Aren't you gonna pick anything?" Rainbow Dash asked Pinkie Pie. "Ya gotta have a helmet at least. Here!" She tossed Pinkie a helm of steel.

"Thanks!" Pinkie Pie held up the helmet, then, with a twist of the wrist, sent it off to Hammerspace. "I'll just keep it there for later!"

Rarity sighed. "This is about that hat, isn't it?"

"Yup!" Pinkie beamed. "It's soooooo soft! Maybe you should get a hat too, Rarity!"

Rarity bit her lip before a sentence including the word "tacky" could slip out.

Jack, Thorgil, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie arranged themselves in line before Thor, Loki, Sif, Gwendolyn, Oswald, Cornelius, Velvet, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. "I think we're ready," Twilight announced, looking over the group.

"Then let us proceed to the Bifrost!" Thor announced.

"Just one request," Rainbow Dash replied.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

"We don't ride horses."

...

The party made way out to the Bifrost on foot. "I thought of something," Rarity pointed out. "In the past, when we've traveled worlds, we've had a bit of…er…trouble with shifting form against our will. As you can imagine, this thoroughly ruins our ensembles. There wouldn't be a way to make sure we would remain in this form before we cross, would there?"

"I am not sure," Thor replied.

"There's a pattern," Twilight pointed out. "If there's a prevalent sentient species or race on that world that's close to equine form, we tend to turn to that. If not, we become the dominant species or race. And if it's kind of a…free-for-all world, like the Islands of the Blessed, we just turn back into ponies."

"There are no speaking horses in Alfheim," Sif reassured them. "If you have assessed correctly, you should retain your current form. That or become elves. Then again, becoming an elf would most likely be nigh impossible, given what they are."

"There is the Valley of Yggdrassil, though," Jack recalled. "It marks the borders of all the Nine Realms. That's where the life force is strongest. Something tells me getting too close to Yggdrassil might just revert you to pony form."

"We'll have to stay away from it when we enter," Gwendolyn decided.

"Good thing I kept these in case we do change!" Pinkie Pie broke in.

All turned to see her carrying the white robes from the Islands of the Blessed. "Nice job, Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"Why is turning into an elf impossible?" Twilight asked.

"Because elves don't have souls," Jack answered.

"That isn't entirely true," Loki butted in.

"But they refused to take sides in the war between angels and demons," Jack stated, surprised to hear a rebuttal. "They were declared half-fallen for their apathy, and their souls were taken away so they were barred from Heaven."

"That tale is somewhat true," Thor confirmed. "The elves have origins from amongst the angels since the days of Legend. And aye, they refused to choose sides between Elysium and Tartarus. But the realm of the dead has always been complex."

"Simply riddled with bad politics and red tape," Loki confirmed. "As the father of one of its chief goddesses, I should know."

"Angels and demons each had their own agenda," Thor continued. "For many angels and demons are older even than Legend. Older than your Discord, even. The elves were beings who believed neutrality was the best choice, not out of apathy but out of strategy. Though it did leave both Elysium and Tartarus no choice but to bar them from their gates. Their souls are not like those of Asgardians or Midgardians, and upon their death, they are judged for one of the many other realms of the dead. Yet they may not enter either of the two largest ever since that war. They long one day to be able to enter Elysium, which is desirable to most, but it cannot happen."

"Unless they spend too much time among Midgardians," Loki clarified. "Then they begin operating under Midgardian codes of morality, and by Underworld law, that makes them eligible to be judged in a more traditional way."

"I know an elf who wanted to gain a Midgardian soul through good deeds and suffering," Jack recalled. "That must be what she strives for. Though if it weren't for Thorgil giving her a Rune of Protection, she would be far more fixated on the suffering than the good deeds."

"I'll never understand why you think your God will only call a person good if they suffer," Thorgil grunted.

"But if the elves do have souls," Jack countered to Thor, "why do they insist on living in glamour? Making sacrifices to demons in exchange for eternal youth and beauty? Kidnapping human children to use as pets, and hobgoblin children to replace with them?"

A silence fell over the group.

"Wow," Twilight remarked.

"Glamour?" Thor repeated. "Sacrifices? Kidnapping? That does not sound like the Light Elves of Alfheim. Nor does it sound like the Dark Elves, for that matter."

"Thor," Velvet reminded him, "we have lost contact with Alfheim since the Cauldron Wars. This was long before Jack was ever born on Midgard. It is possible that things on Alfheim have changed for the worse. We are not calling upon the same Partholon and Partholis from days of old."

"But it all sounds far more extreme than the Partholon and Partholis we heard tell of," Sif argued.

"I don't think we can REALLY know what's goin' on until we get there," Applejack resolved.

"I HOPE Jack's wrong," Twilight said with a shudder.

"He's not!" Thorgil insisted. "I've been there with him! That was where my hand was paralyzed when they tried to sacrifice ME!"

"Couldn't it have been a misunderstanding?" Volstagg posed.

"I think," Gwendolyn said somberly, "we should be prepared in case Alfheim is not what we expect. The Midgardians have no reason to lie."

The great dome of the Bifrost loomed ahead, then grew closer. Heimdall stood vigil before it, rigid as ever. "I know of your task given by Odin and Frigga," he announced.

"So you will send us to Alfheim," Thor stated.

"Pretty please with a cupcake on top?" Pinkie Pie added.

"I shall open the Bifrost to that realm and send thee forth," Heimdall confirmed.

They filed into the sphere. "Oooooh!" Rarity cried. "How absolutely BEAUTIFUL! It's like nothing I've ever seen before!"

"Rarity?" Rainbow Dash was confused. "What are you – "

Rarity nudged her hard in the side and hissed, "Play along. We can't let on that we've been here before! Now act like it's new!"

"Ohhhh!" Rainbow Dash replied, louder. "Yeah, this is AWESOME!"

The group packed into the center of the room, looking toward the wall that would open up. Pinkie Pie felt her heartbeat grow faster; despite having already ridden the Bifrost, she was excited to live it all over again.

"Whatever awaits us," Thor stated, "we must be ready."

Twilight nodded. "We will be."

Heimdall plunged his sword into the central control of the Bifrost. Electric energy crackled from it, and the walls became alive with networks of lightning. From outside came the sound of the Bifrost's walls clickety-clacking into position, spinning ever faster, and the portal opened up before them, a rush of gold.

As the eighteen stepped forward, carried along the Bifrost's current, Pinkie Pie whooped with joy: "YEAAAAA-WHOOOOOO!" They were swept away, this cry echoing briefly to Heimdall before the portal closed and took on the appearance of an ordinary wall once more.

...

ELFLAND, ALFHEIM

It was immediately apparent that Alfheim was beautiful. Thor, Loki, Sif, Gwendolyn, Oswald, Velvet, Cornelius, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Thorgil, Jack, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg had landed softly on a green meadow bordered by trees that seemed to glitter. Underfoot were wildflowers of every color, though immediately, Rarity knew something about them was amiss. A soft breeze blew over the party, carrying with it the faintest sweet scent of the flowers. The entire scene was set against the night, which Twilight found odd, as days and nights on Asgard seemed to sync up with those on Midgard and the Islands of the Blessed. Overhead, the ebony sky was studded with the luster of stars, though they were unlike any stars Twilight had ever seen. Some were the usual color of silver-white light, but others gleamed red, blue, green, violet…any color one could think of. A great silver-white moon shone among the rainbow stars, waning from full, a great curve carved out of its side.

"They're not like any stars I've ever seen," Twilight said hushedly in awe.

"That's because they're not real," Loki replied.

Twilight shook her head. "What?"

"None of this is real," Loki said calmly. "It appears you were right about the glamour aspect. I'm not exactly sure WHAT it really looks like, but it's most certainly an illusion."

"What part of it is the illusion?" Velvet asked.

"Everything," Loki replied. "The sky, the stars, that moon…oh, dear. It appears as though someone has taken a bite out of the moon."

"Yeah…" Applejack looked up, closer at the moon. "That DOES look like a bite!"

"We…sort of…did that," Jack admitted. "When our friend Pega lit the fire that showed the true Elfland. It used to be a perpetual full moon."

"Well, that would explain why the flowers are wrong," Rarity huffed. "They're NOTHING like the raw, untamed beauty of a hazel wood."

"They're too perfect," Oswald agreed. "Everything here…is too perfect." He scowled. "I dislike it."

"The life force," Twilight realized. "I can barely feel it. It's almost like it's not even there!"

Pinkie Pie gasped deeply. "I CAN'T FEEL IT!"

"This makes no sense." Thor turned to look in direction after direction. "This is not the Alfheim I knew. It was a place of great beauty, but not as this. It was not a lie. This…this is a LIE!"

"Perhaps we will know what happened when we speak to the king," Sif volunteered.

This did not do much to help Thor's dismay or confusion, but he nodded. "It is just…wrong."

"Then I'd prepare myself if I were you," Thorgil warned. "It only gets more wrong the further you go."

"I must speak to Partholon about this," Thor muttered.

"He'll be able to clear things up," Applejack reassured him. "An' besides. You're a prince of Asgard. He ain't gonna beat around the bush with ya."

"The palace should be that way," Loki said, gesturing toward one edge of the meadow. "If I recall."

Seventeen set out in that direction. Gwendolyn hung back. "I thought it was this way…" she stated, pointing in a different direction.

Thor halted. "She's right," he realized.

"LOKIIIII!" everyone else yelled.

Loki had himself a good laugh. "I can't believe you actually fell for that! Haven't you learned ANYTHING?"

This earned him several very angry glares.

The party turned to walk in the direction Gwendolyn had indicated, the mood lightening. Oswald, however, kept his sword unsheathed, braced at his side.

"Uh…you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked him.

"I do not trust this place," Oswald growled. "If the elves must hide behind so many layers of illusion, then I insist on knowing what it is they must hide."

...

The courtyards of the Elfland palace were as perfect as the rest of the elves' domain in Alfheim. Partholon's garden was everything the elf king could have wanted: sweet scented flowers in towering trees, marble fountains with sculptures of fantastic beasts spitting streams of water into their bases, ornate benches furnished with comfortable cushions of velvet, expanses of green grass bordered by dirt paths that never seemed to get any soil on one's shoes. It was this way because he had created it to be so, allowing his imagination to run wild, building everything he saw from sheer willpower and thought. Equally beautiful, tall with hair of gold and robes of silver, he strode through the greenery, admiring all he'd created for his personal paradise, attempting to lose himself in it.

But he couldn't.

Partholon repeatedly tried to tell himself that things were the same as before. But they weren't. They hadn't been, not since the three Midgardian youths had come and brought the fire of truth that dispelled the glamour over all of the elven domain of Alfheim. The glamour had been recast, and Partholon had thought he could forget it all had ever happened…and yet he was conscious of the fact that he was aging. For all the work he and Partholis had done to cover the passage of time in their realm, he could feel it ever so subtly in the very air, time slipping away from them all.

He stopped walking, took in the sight of the garden in its entirety. Yes, it was beautiful, and it looked complete. But Partholon was haunted by the notion that it was sooner or later going to dissipate, perhaps in entirety.

If the Midgardians hadn't come, he lamented, this never would have happened. The illusion would have remained immersive. There would never have been any doubt in it. He believed then that all he could do was attempt to backtrack, to capture what it once had been like, to retreat into what glamour they had left and grasp it tightly.

He returned to his stroll, imagining a few new things: a small shrub with blue leaves and golden blooms, a four-foot-tall painted rock. They materialized as he passed, and he was happy with the result. After some time, Partholon became aware of a physical presence behind him, someone who had crept up on him without a sound, and he turned, showing no sign of surprise when he beheld his visitor, though he surely hadn't expected him.

Partholon recognized immediately the sight of the tall, pale elf who stood behind him, waiting for the Ljósálfar king to acknowledge his presence. "Nuada," he said, calmly but coldly.

"Lord Partholon," Nuada responded. He did not bow.

"What brings you to my garden unannounced, exile of Balor's tribe?" Partholon asked sternly.

"A storm brews," Nuada told him. "Yggdrassill will tremble. Soon, there will be war initiated by Odin."

"And how do you know this?"

"I have merely read the signs, Lord Partholon. When Odin makes his move, he will expect to know what side you fight for. Asgard…or your own. I have come to offer alliance."

"What makes you think I would accept such an alliance?" Partholon spat. "The Ljósálfar, the Light Elves, have always been opposed to the Dark Elves. To you, to your father."

"We are elves all the same," Nuada reminded Partholon. "I come bearing news of an army, one slowly gaining more and more power. We wield the weapons of glamour, of the Darkova, of fire and sword. To ally with us would be to bring both Dark and Light elves into a new age, an age where we conquer those inferior to us. I offer you a chance to come to war with victors, Partholon."

"And what if I do not want to go to war at all?" Partholon countered.

"What would stop you?"

"This realm gives me all I could need," Partholon argued. "There is nothing I could win in war that I could not dream here and make into reality. I have power. I have glory. I have luxury. I even have all the control I need over my inferiors. The Midgardians fear us as kidnappers of children and as those who dare toy with the forces of nature. Whatever you have to offer me cannot outweigh that which I have in peace. However, in war, I stand to lose much of this. Tell me, Nuada. What can you offer me that I do not have here?"

Nuada drew a foot-long, silvery spear from a sheath on his back, holding it out in front of his body, perpendicular to it, in his right hand. "Your life," he said, and the spear extended to four feet long, Nuada's left hand coming up to clasp it.

No sooner had he said this than the elven guard emerged from their hiding places. From in the trees, behind the rocks, under the benches. Thirty men surrounded Partholon, pointing swords and spears at Nuada.

This, however, failed to intimidate the Dark Elf, and Nuada ran headlong into the crowd. He knocked down three in one stroke, leaping over the thrust of a spear and driving the point of his own weapon into a crack between the plates of armor of another guard. The spear point met little resistance, and Nuada realized that, to his advantage, the guards' gleaming armor and razor-sharp weapons were covered in glamour. Most likely, they were wearing the barest rusty plates and wielding blunt swords. Nuada tested this when he ducked under another blow and rose sharply in order to strike at the necks of three other soldiers. The glamour provided just enough resistance to give the appearance of true neck plates, but the soldiers' necks were in fact unguarded, and the spear went through their armor like a hot knife through the crust of bread.

"ASSASSIN!" one of the guards broke away to run toward the palace, screaming "ASSASSIN IN THE COURTYARD!"

A host of other guards heard the call and ran out to where the first wave was testing their might against Nuada only to fall hard one by one. Partholon retreated deeper into the gardens as his men rallied around the rogue dark elf.

...

The path to the palace was lined with trees from which puffy honey cakes sprouted in place of fruit, practically oozing sweet filling.

"There was only one when we were here," Jack observed, distaste creeping into his voice.

"YUMMY!" Pinkie Pie grabbed one of the cakes and stuffed it into her face.

"I'd be careful about eating too many of those," Loki cautioned. "It's all glamour, remember?"

"There's no telling if that honey cake exists at all," Velvet pointed out.

"Or if it's a clod of dirt," Oswald theorized.

"Well, it was sure one TASTY clod of dirt!" Pinkie Pie giggled. She did not, however, take any more cakes, and actually gave the tree she'd plucked from a sidelong glance of suspicion.

Ahead, the elven palace glittered in a way that was altogether too perfect. The moonlight reflected off of it, giving it a silvery sheen. Its myriad towers climbed up into the starry sky whilst arches and bridges connected them as intricately as the strands of a spiderweb. In front of it, the path opened out into a wide circle upon which a many-tiered fountain was stationed, gushing crystal clear water that sparkled far too much for catching mere moonlight. Perched around the fountain was an array of dancing people and animals that seemed to be frozen in time.

As the party approached, Fluttershy gasped at the frozen animals. "Are they…" She couldn't bring herself to say "dead."

"They're only statues," Thorgil reassured her. "We made that same mistake when we first came here."

"This is ALL glamour?" Rarity stared upward at the highest reaches of the towering palace. "I have a little bit of a hard time believing that."

"Well, it is," Loki insisted. "There is a palace under there, but it doesn't have NEARLY as many towers."

"It is hard to believe," Gwendolyn agreed.

They crossed through the glittering silver gates into a spacious hallway of gold, the ceiling blue as the end of dusk and sprinkled with lanterns reminiscent of stars. Guards were posted sparsely down the length of it.

Thor strode toward the nearest gate. "I am Thor Odinson, prince of Ragnanival in Asgard," he stated. "My traveling party and I come seeking an audience with King Partholon and Queen Partholis."

The guard nodded. "At the moment," he stated, giving Thor a cold look, "the king is – "

"THE KING IS IN DANGER!" another guard screamed, skidding into the hallway. "ALL ARMS, TO THE NORTH COURTYARD!"

"It seems we've turned up just in time!" Cornelius remarked as the guards scrambled to follow the messenger.

"LET'S GO!" Rainbow Dash took off after the company of elven guard. Her sword materialized in her hands.

As the others followed, there was a flurry of weaponry: blades drawn, spears readied, Mahou Shoujo states summoned up.

...

Another of the elven guard went down with a spear driven through the heart. As the corpse fell away, Nuada looked up to survey Partholon.

Instead of Partholon, however, he beheld a raven-haired man giving him a most unnerving smirk. He wasn't an elf, and Nuada realized, from what he had heard of the pantheon, that this was Loki, the trickster god. While it was curious that Loki should suddenly appear, Nuada wrote it off. Of course Odin would send his sons as emissaries to the various realms. He light-footedly leapt toward Loki, easily – far too easily – plunged the spear into his chest.

Loki shimmered, then vanished. An illusion; a glamour. The trickster god's voice laughed from behind Nuada; "I didn't think you idiot enough to fall for a parlor trick like that."

Nuada whirled, striking at the image of Loki behind him. That one also dissipated.

"I'm up here…and you truly aren't very intelligent, are you?" Loki laughed, sitting in the branches of one of the trees. Nuada's instinct was to lob the spear right at him, but he would only be fooled so many times. He approached the tree, gently poking the image of Loki with the spear. As expected, it disappeared.

"Ah…so you're catching on," Loki taunted, behind Nuada again. Nuada had two options: ignore this Loki, writing him off as glamour…or test to make sure that Loki wasn't relying on hi doing exactly that. He whirled, swinging the spear hard.

CLANG. It clashed with Loki's own spear hard. This one was real.

"You decided to stop being a coward," Nuada stated.

"There is a difference between cowardice and intelligence, you know," Loki replied, that same smirk still swept across his face. Keeping Nuada running around the garden had allowed the Warriors Three enough time to surround Partholon and discreetly escort him back inside the palace walls. The assassin himself was all that was left to deal with.

The silvery spear slipped away from the lock with Loki's, making a jab toward Loki's stomach. Loki twisted, evading it by a hair, then threw a shockwave of blue at Nuada, sending the Dark Elf back a few steps. Nuada surged back toward Loki, and their spears clashed once, twice, thrice.

Nuada was not completely distracted. His senses were still on guard. He was quite aware of the presence rushing toward him from behind, leaping into the air. Nuada's feet also left the ground, and he entered a high and graceful flip, arcing backward and bracing the spear to meet the airborne Sif and the sword she was plunging at him. He had just enough time to register the look on her face when she realized she'd been robbed of the element of surprise.

Then Nuada was knocked out of the air with a great BOOM and a shower of confetti and glitter. Stunned, the Dark Elf landed hard on the ground, rolling. He snapped up to a standing position as soon as he could, rather embarrassed. He then saw Pinkie Pie charging at him from across the courtyard, pistols drawn.

Nuada raised the spear, twisting it to deflect each of Pinkie Pie's shots, but he felt as though his energy was no longer at full capacity, and he was slightly sluggish in his movement of the spear. He was aware of a projectile striking him from behind, then another, and though they were not physical, nor did they hurt, they very nearly caused him to lose his grip on the spear. He turned his head just enough to see Rarity loosing her arrows upon him from up in one of the trees.

Then his vision was filled with Oswald. The knight in black rushed past, his blade grazing, and this time, Nuada did lose his grip on the spear and stumble.

Another spear came flying at him; he caught it in a hand, deftly twisting it and throwing it back to its source – Thorgil. She dodged, and her spear point lodged in the grass. When Nuada's hand lowered, the rope of Applejack's whip wrapped around it.

They descended around him: Twilight with her staff glowing, Gwendolyn with spear braced, Rainbow Dash with sword drawn, Velvet with meteor hammer at the ready, Fluttershy with katana held high, Cornelius with broadsword gleaming bluish in the moonlight, Jack with staff planted firmly on the ground. And before them all was Thor, the thunder god, clutching Mjolnir.

Nuada knew when he was outmatched by warriors of the gods. He used the point of his spear to quickly slice through the rope wrapped around his hand, quickly speeding across the courtyard.

"DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Rainbow Dash screamed, and the others charged. Nuada was not only quick, but stealthy, and just as easily as Partholon's guard had hidden away in the foliage of the courtyard, soon Nuada had disappeared among it as well, using it as cover until he could escape the courtyard and the palace altogether. Alfheim was a lost cause to Malekith's forces, he recognized. And Partholon and Partholis had thus declared themselves foes rather than friends.

"I think we lost him," Twilight sighed.

"But we managed to stop him from killing Partholon," Gwendolyn said firmly.

Fluttershy gasped, a catch in her throat, as she looked over the courtyard and spied the bodies of the elven guard splayed about. She frantically rushed to one, kneeling, trying to take his pulse.

Rarity hurried over to her, taking her gently by the shoulders. "Fluttershy," she said, softly but sternly, "there's nothing more you can do."

"But maybe I can – maybe he's still – "

Rarity shook her head, kneeling beside Fluttershy and moving one of her hands to clasp her friend's. Fluttershy squeezed Rarity's hand tightly as tears welled in her eyes.

"If we'd have gotten here sooner…" she wailed.

"Perhaps it's best we go back inside the palace," Rarity gently suggested.

One of the elven guard gingerly approached the party. "I believe you wanted an audience with King Partholon," he stated.

"Aye," Thor answered as Gwendolyn nodded. "That we did."

"It is granted," the guard informed him. "And more than deserved."

...

The palace was filled with far more elves than the travelers had seen thus far. As they progressed into the palace's heart, they observed throngs of them, all tall with golden hair. They radiated with a beauty that seemed not to be so much a part of their physical features as an aura, a feeling that these creatures simply should be beautiful no matter what. Twilight identified this as a sure sign of glamour.

They came to a hallway that at first seemed to be made of light itself. On closer examination, it was apparent that the walls, ceiling, and floor were made of glass. The floor was transparent, revealing below it an expanse of water filled with goldfish that surfaced and submerged at random. The walls and ceiling were reflective, and in the center of the room –

"Well," Twilight remarked, "it looks like we found the sun."

A globe of light that radiated warmly, utterly reminiscent of the sun in miniature, was suspended in the air at the room's heart, and its light reflected off all the walls. While a few elves were seen lined up against the walls, most were paired off, dancing a spritely waltz across the glass hallway.

"Come dance with us!" they beckoned as certain of them spun to face the newcomers.

"I'd rather not this time," Jack stated coldly.

"Nor would I," Oswald insisted.

"Come dance!" the elves beckoned, laughing…though Twilight shuddered when she realized she wasn't sure whether the elves were laughing out of merriment, or at the traveling party. Under their layers of glamour, they were more beautiful than the gods even appeared to be, and Twilight surmised that to such beings, the eighteen who had entered the hall all appeared to be awkward looking at the very least if not hilariously ugly.

"They're all the same," Applejack whispered to Twilight. "I don't like the looks of that."

"It would be rude to decline the invitation to dance," the elven guard informed the group.

"Then rude I shall be," Oswald stated firmly, storming to the edge of the floor to wait by the wall for the others. Jack followed closely, then Thorgil, who also did not feel like reliving her last stay in Alfheim.

"I apologize for the actions of my brother-in-law," Thor told the guard. "He does not mean to offend. Nor shall the rest of us." He turned to Twilight and bowed. "Friend Twilight Sparkle. Might I have this dance?"

"Sure!" Twilight answered happily.

Thor extended a hand, and Twilight took it. He led her out onto the dance floor, bringing her into the waltz.

"Miss Pinkie Pie." Loki turned to Pinkie, bowing. "Would you do me the honor?"

Pinkie gasped, and as Loki extended a hand, she wasn't sure what to say or do. Then her instinct overcame reason. "Let's cut a rug!" she cried, seizing Loki's hand and practically dragging him onto the floor, to his amusement.

"Milady." Fandral took Rarity's hand and kissed it teasingly.

"Well," Rarity replied, "I suppose there isn't any harm in just one dance. As friends, mind you."

"Duly noted." Fandral gave her a nod before sweeping her out onto the floor.

"May I?" Cornelius asked Velvet, putting out a paw.

"Of course," Velvet answered lovingly, and she and Cornelius followed the other pairs.

Hogun gave Fluttershy a nod, and she understood. Perhaps, she thought, a dance would be just what she needed to lift her spirits. The quietest of the Warriors Three led her onto the dancefloor.

"May I?" Sif turned and extended a hand to Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Sure. Why not?" The two moved in to join the waltz.

"That leaves you and me!" Volstagg told Applejack.

"All righty!" Applejack replied as the two bowed to each other gracefully before clasping hands and moving into the fray.

Gwendolyn, resolving not to be stymied by Oswald's refusal to dance, moved out onto the floor on her own, swaying and turning with the rest.

Oswald glared stonily at the dancefloor and those upon it, even his friends and acquaintances, until his eyes alit upon Gwendolyn dancing on her own. Even without a partner, she moved so gracefully to the music, her toes sweeping over the glassy floor, her arms arcing through the bright air so that the miniature sun reflected off her armor. And he'd left her to dance all alone.

"You want to dance with her, don't you?" Jack prodded.

Oswald nodded. "I still do not trust this place. But I trust her." He moved out onto the floor, toward Gwendolyn.

When she saw Oswald approach, Gwendolyn slowed her dance. Oswald bowed to her. "Lady Gwendolyn," he stated grandly, "might I disturb you to ask for a dance?"

"You may," Gwendolyn replied warmly, and soon she and Oswald were moving as one, sliding gracefully over the oceanic floor, one-two-three, one-two-three.

"And you?" Thorgil snorted. "You want to dance?"

"Once was enough for me on this floor," Jack replied.

"Me too," Thorgil concurred.

"To tell you the truth," Jack sighed, "I keep wondering…worrying…if I'll see Lucy. She might be in this very room."

"What would you do if she turned up, anyway?" Thorgil asked.

"I don't know," Jack confessed. "I'd want to ask her to come home with me. But I know she wouldn't. And it isn't fair to Partholis, either. To think about taking her daughter away."

"Well, it wasn't fair of her to take all those human children," Thorgil pointed out.

"I can't just steal Lucy away, if that's what you're saying!" Jack snapped.

"I'm not," Thorgil pointed out. "Though if you wanted to, I'd hold off Partholon for you."

"THORGIL!"

"I'd do it."

"More for sport than anything," Jack huffed. "Well, we just spent all that time PROTECTING the elf king."

"I wonder who that elf was that was trying to kill him," Thorgil mused. "That was a true warrior!"

"That is a good question," Jack agreed. He stared out over the floor, half trying to glimpse the elf girl he'd once called sister in the crowd, half observing his traveling companions. "They all seem so…"

"Deluded?" Thorgil supplied.

Jack nodded. "Even though they know it's fake. I guess we should just let them enjoy their illusion."

"They're smart," Thorgil pointed out. "They'll know when to leave." After a pause: "DID you want to dance with me, though? Last time, you just danced with Ethne."

"No!" Jack retorted, caught off guard. "Why would I want to dance with YOU?"

"You're not as good a secret keeper as you think," Thorgil told him with a grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means. But I suppose you're going to just be all grumpy about it and not want to talk. That's fine by me. I couldn't stand being DOTED over anyway."

"Good," Jack replied. "Because I wouldn't DOTE over you anyway. I think it's impossible for anyone to do that."

"Good!"

"Thorgil," Jack then said, "may I please NOT have this dance, and avoid dancing with you as much as possible?"

He gave her a sincere smile then, and she couldn't help but return it. "I would like nothing more," she told him.

The myriad pairs slowly, gracefully waltzed through the room, adhering to a 3/4 meter no one could hear, when Pinkie Pie and Loki tore across the floor in a frantic Lindy Hop, spinning and twirling each other so violently that several elves were very nearly knocked over.

As the fast-paced duo paused so that Loki could flip Pinkie Pie in midair, only a deft turn by Hogun saved both his and Fluttershy's heads from being kicked. As Fluttershy spun, she became aware of a rather peculiar sight. Some of the elves who weren't dancing, instead lined up against the mirror walls and chatting, held leashes, and at the end of the leashes were what appeared to be human children. At first, Fluttershy was horrified, and she gasped, causing Hogun to stop mid-dance.

"What is it?" he asked her.

By then, another possibility had occurred to Fluttershy. She knew about the difference between animals who talked and animals who did not – animals with high sentience and animals without - and were humans not also animals? She had seen equines like herself used as pets and work animals on many worlds. Perhaps it was the same with humans. She wondered if, then, she was due to meet talking rabbits who would contrast with her own Angel. "Some of the elves have humans for pets," she stated. "Is it the same way with horses? The way you have a horse for your pet, but I'm a pony, and I'm different?"

Hogun quickly turned to look and see what Fluttershy was talking about. "No," he grunted. "It is not the same. Those are Midgardians, just like your Jack and Thorgil."

"Oh, no!" Fluttershy's horror returned.

"Thor must be told," Hogun resolved, and he and Fluttershy hurriedly crossed the room toward him.

Thor and Twilight were having their own set of difficulties. Twilight couldn't seem to take a step without her foot landing on Thor's. She was thoroughly frustrated. She had expected to be able to logically predict the pattern of feet required for the waltz, but whenever she thought she was supposed to step backward, she was actually supposed to step forward, and whenever she thought she was supposed to step forward, she was soon to find that she should have gone back. An attempt at a twirl resulted in her letting go of her partner entirely and spinning a few feet away.

"Sorry!" she cried, hurrying back to Thor. "I'll get this! I just need a minute!"

"Have you never danced before?" Thor asked, somewhat bemused.

"I dance!" Twilight replied angrily, heating up at the embarrassment of it all. "Just…not very well."

"The waltz is simple," Thor told her.

"Coulda fooled me," Twilight huffed.

"I shall direct thee," Thor replied. "Follow my lead. Step backward on thy left foot first."

Slowing down to half the pace they had been attempting, Thor and Twilight slowly honed the box step, Twilight determined to follow Thor's direction to the letter and master the art. The initial movements did turn out to be simpler than she thought, and the pair was just moving into the more complex twist when Hogun and Fluttershy approached hurriedly.

"Something's wrong," Fluttershy whimpered. "The elves…they have…they've got…" she squeaked.

"Midgardian children," Hogun finished for her. "On leads. Look about you."

Thor and Twilight halted their dance to do so, spotting the youngsters being reined in by the reveling elves. "Oh my GOSH!" Twilight cried.

"Jack and Thorgil spoke the truth of the elves," Thor growled. "Alfheim has fallen farther than we believed. We must cease this dance and confront Partholon and Partholis directly. Find the others!"

Loki and Pinkie Pie were immediately spotted doing a fast-paced shuffle. "LOKI!" Thor barked.

"PINKIE PIE!" Twilight called.

The pair halted, rather disappointed, and approached their callers sulkingly.

"We must gather the others and go," Thor ordered.

"Righty-o!" Pinkie Pie was immediately on the other side of the ballroom – though Thor couldn't quite comprehend how quickly she'd gotten from point A to B, as he hadn't actually seen her walk or run the distance – grabbing Sif by the shoulder to frantically deliver Thor's orders.

Like a ripple, news spread throughout the party until all eighteen were gathered at the far end of the ballroom, ready to proceed on to the throne room. As Fluttershy rejoined Cornelius and Velvet, she was struck with fear. For they did, in fact, resemble sentient, speaking rabbits, and she wondered if this put them in any more danger with the elves than the rest of them.

...

Beyond the glass hall, in an area surrounded by a throng of elves, was a raised floor bearing quadruple thrones. Jack's eyes darted to the leftmost chair, one smaller than the rest and obviously built for a child, but it was empty. That was where Lucy would sit, and Jack wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or saddened that she was absent.

In the rightmost chair sat a woman of incredible beauty. Clothed in robes of white that almost shone, she, unlike the other elves, had flowing dark hair. She regarded those before her with a bemused smirk that unnerved Twilight, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she had read about this particular elf somewhere, seen her drawn in a book. And what she had read had not been pleasant.

The two largest and most ornate thrones in the center were occupied by Partholon and his queen, Partholis, the latter of whom was perhaps the second most radiant elf that the traveling party had seen (the woman in the rightmost throne surpassed her still), clothed in robes of gold. Partholon's expression was rather stern while Partholis gave a dutiful smile to those before her throne.

Thor bowed, and the others followed suit. Even, reluctantly, Jack, Thorgil, and Oswald. "Lord Partholon," Thor greeted. "Lady Partholis. Lady Nimüe…"

It was then that Twilight realized from where she knew Nimüe. She had read the legend of the Lady of the Lake in several books. She recognized the name as that of a powerful magical entity that was not under any circumstances to be trusted. Nimüe's smile, up close and in person, was suddenly much more frightening.

Thor continued, "We came from Ragnanival to ask a request of you…but it seems you have problems we did not anticipate."

"Nuada's attempt to kill me was an extraordinary event," Partholon explained. "It is hardly the worst this kingdom has dealt with in recent years."

Partholis' expression soured, and she glared directly at Jack and Thorgil. She was about to speak up, to denounce them, but Pinkie Pie, unaware of this, blurted out, "Who's Nuada?"

"Nuada is a Dark Elf," Partholon began.

Volstagg shook his head. "The Dark Elves are all dead!"

"If you would let me finish," Partholon said sternly, and Volstagg said no more. "The Dark Elves of Svartalfheim are all, indeed, dead. However, there are many tribes of Dark Elves that moved out of Svartalfheim into other realms. Such was the tribe of King Balor. Balor was more…hesitant to enter war than Malekith the Accursed. However, when Balor refused a war against humans that Nuada believed was justified, Nuada would no longer accept Balor as father, casting himself and his sister Nuala out of Balor's graces and exiling himself and his sister. He approached me today, so many years later, to ask me to join him in a war he was planning, no doubt a continuation of his agenda against humans. I made it clear that I and the rest of Alfheim were not interested in his grudge, and for that, he attempted to kill me."

Loki snorted. "If you ask me, he should take his issues with his father elsewhere."

"I must thank you for what you have done today to stop him from taking my life," Partholon stated. "For that, all of the elven kingdom is grateful."

All but Partholis, it seemed; this statement soured her even more.

"I thank thee," Thor replied. "That being said, I still hope to make my proposition. I shall take this audience as adequate repayment for our actions against Nuada."

"Speak," Partholis snapped, and Partholon nodded.

"Asgard has been made aware of Jötunn raids upon our realm," Thor explained. "As you are certainly aware, this is a direct violation of the peace treaty we have with Jötunheim. They have declared war upon us, and we are mobilizing troops to return in kind. Alfheim has always been an ally to Asgard. We ask that you lend us your warriors and fight alongside us on the battlefields of Jötunheim."

Thor was met with a short silence. Then Partholis began to laugh…a low laugh, but one that increased in volume enough that everyone could hear it was a laugh of malice. Nimüe's smirk increased disconcertingly.

"You heard of Nuada's proposition to me to join his war, and you knew I had refused," Partholon stated coldly. "Yet you ask me the same question."

"Nuada's forces are not thy friends," Thor argued. "Ours are."

"Besides," Loki pointed out, "we are hardly going to attempt to kill you over a refusal."

"I shall tell you what I told Nuada," Partholon went on. "Bringing war and danger into Alfheim is the last thing I want. There is no reward we could reap from this venture that we cannot gain here. We have all we need and all we could ever want, and should a day come when we do not have it, we can quite easily obtain it. There is nothing to gain from joining your war, but there is all to lose."

"It's not about getting stuff!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "They're your allies!"

"And I hardly think you can simply glamour up Odin's loyalty," Rarity huffed.

"We do not care for Odin's loyalty," Partholon stated. "Nor for any loyalty. Our duty is to this realm and this realm alone."

"Maybe he's right," Twilight whispered. "The attacks were on Asgard, not here."

Gwendolyn nodded. "What he does with the kingdom is his right – "

Thor would not hear of it. "This is not the Alfheim I once knew!" he barked. "Since our arrival, we have been met with naught but illusion and corruption! The Partholon and Partholis of days long gone would not have hesitated to stand alongside my father, or his father! Especially against the Jötunns, who have been our mutual enemies! Still, you would rather sit here on a throne that is little more than a wooden chair covered in illusion to make it appear as though it were gold, indulging thyself in honey cakes and wildflowers when crisis threatens all of the Nine Realms! And what's more, you have been stealing children from Midgard! Have you no decency? Base though the Midgardians may be, it is FAR below thee to steal them away from their homes and families for thine own amusement! And it is no way to hold diplomacy among the Nine Realms!"

"You talk of diplomacy among the Nine Realms!" Partholis snapped, standing up out of her seat. "And yet you bring to us those who ruined Alfheim's beauty! You bring to us the Midgardians, the very creatures you knew are lower than us all, who used accursed flames to dispel our glamour! Ever since that day, when THOSE TWO – " She gestured violently to Jack and Thorgil. " – entered here with their hideous accomplice, that hobgoblin of a girl, Alfheim's glow has begun to dull! The moon is incomplete, and while we were able to rebuild what was taken from us, it is not enough! It is NEVER enough to cover the fact that TIME IS NOW PASSING AND DECAYING US ALL!"

"TIME PASSES FOR ALL OTHER REALMS BUT YOURS!" Thor roared. "YOU DARE BE SO SELFISH THAT YOU WOULD REJECT THIS VERY FACT OF NATURE?"

"Thor, this probably isn't – " Cornelius attempted to interrupt.

"The selfish one," Partholis seethed, "is the one who brings the ruiners of our realm here to threaten us into joining his war, which need not have involved Alfheim at all."

"THAT'S not what we're doing at all!" Rainbow Dash cried.

"We do not need thy help after all," Thor seethed.

"Thor – " Gwendolyn said. Like Cornelius, she was brushed off.

"If this is what truly matters to thee," Thor growled, "then you would hinder us more than help us on the battlefield. You are not the friends and allies we once knew. I doubt your warriors are even armed. It is all illusion. We should not even have come here." He turned sharply, and his friends parted to let the thunder god storm through. "We shall take our leave now."

Rainbow Dash hurried to catch up to Thor. "But Frigga was counting on us!" she argued.

"My mother and father believed that the elves could be reasoned with," Thor stated sharply. "They were mistaken. They should understand this."

"Lord Partholon," Velvet said, stepping forward. "Lady Partholis. My brother…he does not mean…"

"And now I suppose Thor expects me to listen to a Pooka?" Partholis let out a derisive laugh. "Let alone one who claims to be his SISTER. Leave my sight at once, all of thee. And do not let me see either of those Midgardians here again if you value their lives."

One by one, Thor, Rainbow Dash, Loki, Pinkie Pie, Jack, Thorgil, Sif, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun, Oswald, Cornelius, Velvet, Gwendolyn, and Twilight filed out of the throne room after Thor, on a course to leave the palace. Twilight chanced a glance over her shoulder as she left. Partholon and Partholis' faces were both masks of anger. Nimüe, however, was smiling.

"Pity you could not stay," Nimüe said at last. "I, for one, still had a very special welcome to give you all. You could have brought us great happiness."

These words unnerved Twilight, and she hastened to leave the eleven royalty's sight.

...

Jack and Thorgil caught up to Thor. "We tried to warn you," Thorgil grumbled.

"They can't be reasoned with," Jack insisted.

Thor shook his head. "It is still difficult to believe that they have fallen so far. The Light Elves I knew did not create false worlds, but reveled in the natural beauty of their own and protected everything from the trees to the animals. They were not cowards, nor were they lazy. They were true warriors."

"So what happened?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Glamour is dangerous," Velvet supplied. "Those who have mastered it must take care not to believe that it can replace their realm or solve their problems. Even Ingway knew there was a limit when he took on the study. It becomes an addiction."

"Especially if the elves still feel resentment for being cast from Elysium and Tartarus," Thor realized.

"But when we dispelled the glamour when we came last time," Jack pointed out, "we saw that the elves were…" He couldn't think of a more politically correct word. "Ugly."

"Another hazard of glamour," Velvet explained. "Using it to change your appearance for hours, days, even months will take no toll. But using it for years upon years…your true face becomes absorbed by the magic. You will age, and your health will deteriorate."

"So…wait," Rainbow Dash asked for clarification. "If the glamour goes away, will they all…y'know…" She made a pantomime of slashing her hand across her neck.

Velvet shook her head. "They would be revealed as aged in a way that elves should not age. And they would probably become sick. But spending years without the glamour would eventually cure these problems. They could regain true beauty and health…were they willing to give up this magic of illusion for long enough."

"And they aren't," Jack insisted.

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched cry from one of the corridors the group passed. "Jack! JACK!"

Jack froze, and he felt as though his blood were doing the same. Running toward him was a tiny elven girl clothed in a white gown. Jack turned to her, utterly shocked. "Lucy…" he breathed, surprised the girl even remembered him.

Lucy laughed. "What are you doing here, Jack? This is my royal palace! It isn't a place for peasants!"

"He travels with royalty," Thor insisted.

"Oooooh, a prince!" Lucy squealed. "You are truly handsome!" She pranced delicately toward Thor. "What brings you to my palace?" She gave him her sweetest smile.

"I think she likes you," Rainbow Dash whispered to Thor.

"We came to do business with thy mother and father," Thor told her. "But they would not do business with us."

"You were probably cruel," Lucy argued. "Mother and Father don't help cruel people."

"Your mother and father ARE cruel people," Loki broke in before Rarity elbowed him sharply. He turned to her. "Was that truly necessary?"

"You don't just SAY things like that to a FOAL!" Rarity replied in disgust.

"Lucy…" Jack bent down next to the girl. "I've missed you so much…" He reached out to embrace her.

She recoiled. "Eurgh! Don't touch me! You smell like the cows in our old village!"

Jack stood, visibly pained by Lucy's response.

"I haven't missed YOU," Lucy continued. "It's so much better here than at our old home! I can have honey cakes whenever I want, and I always wear the most beautiful gowns!"

"I…I'm glad you're happy," Jack stated, his heart deflating.

"I am so very much!" Lucy gushed.

"Is that…?" Applejack whispered.

Thorgil nodded. "That changeling he thought was his sister."

"I…" There was so much Jack wanted to say. He wanted to ask Lucy more about her life in the elven kingdom. He wanted to tell her about all the adventures he'd been on since he'd left her there. But he knew how she would respond: with more disgust and more rejection. "I shouldn't keep you."

"No, you certainly should not!" Lucy agreed.

"What kinda way is that to talk to your brother?" Applejack stepped in between the two.

"Applejack, please…" Jack whimpered. "Don't…"

"Listen here!" Applejack scolded Lucy. "He misses you, and you don't seem to give a rotten apple core about him! After everythin' he's done for ya, the LEAST you could do is be a little nicer when ya talk to 'im!"

"I don't have to be nice!" Lucy retaliated. "I'm a princess!"

"You just said it was our fault for bein' cruel, and that's why your mom and dad kicked us out!" Applejack pointed out.

"We CAN be cruel if we want!" Lucy argued. "We can do whatever we want!"

"Leave it be, Applejack," Thor commanded. "She too has been corrupted by the glamour."

Applejack gave Lucy a glare before turning to rejoin the party. They kept moving out of the palace as Lucy skipped away to wherever her next appointment was.

"Granny Smith wouldn't'a let that filly get away with talkin' to her family like that without a groundin'," Applejack seethed.

"It's all right," Jack sighed. "I shouldn't have expected any different. She's elf through and through."

"That was NO true elven behavior," Thor insisted. "Your view of them is clouded."

"Like your view of Midgardians when you call them 'base,'" Twilight pointed out.

Thor was taken aback slightly, but he just gave a nod. "…Yes. But Jack, her behavior is the fault of the corruption of her parents to glamour."

"She wasn't raised with them," Jack lamented. "She was raised with us. In a world without glamour."

"There is no doubt that Partholis or Nimüe would have found a way to contact and influence her there," Gwendolyn offered. "They are protective of their own."

"Yes…" Jack recalled. "Lucy would often go into…trances. We thought she had gone mad. She would tell us about beautiful women coming to her to tell her about a life she supposedly had as a princess. She and I had been captured by the Northmen at the time…I thought the shock had caused her to see things that weren't there."

"Lucy may also have been influenced from memories of her earliest childhood," Thor suggested. "Glamour is remembered by young minds."

"Don't let that little brat get you down," Thorgil growled. "After everything she put us through…you don't deserve someone like HER messing with things."

"I know I shouldn't care," Jack emphasized, "and that she was always meant to be here, not with my family…but…" He found himself unable to speak.

Applejack put a hand on his shoulder softly. She wasn't really sure what to say to him, but he appreciated the contact.

The eighteen found themselves outside the palace, back on the tree-lined road that led away from it. "What do we tell Lady Frigga?" Sif posed.

"That the elves are far too corrupted by glamour to serve as our allies," Thor stated firmly.

"I just…can't believe that's IT," Twilight admitted. "After we came all this way, and after everything you said…"

"It's sad," Fluttershy observed. "All this glamour was supposed to make them happy, but it just made them want more and more and cut off from everypony else."

"No doubt it will be their undoing," Oswald agreed.

"Is that even a LIFE?" Twilight argued angrily. "Just getting everything you want all the time while the real world falls to pieces?"

"It isn't something that can be mended in a day's time," Gwendolyn told her. "We will, however, have to see to this matter after the war concludes."

"But who knows how long that could be?" Cornelius pointed out.

"…Maybe it can be fixed in a day," Twilight realized, halting in place.

"What do you mean?" Gwendolyn asked her.

"The Elements of Harmony," Twilight stated. "I bet you their magic could blow all of the glamour out of this place for good!"

Rarity shook her head frantically. "That would be a TERRIBLE idea. You want to simply yank the rug out from under their hooves?"

"Yes," Twilight said confidently. "Everything we've seen…they laughed at us. They're kidnapping Midgardian children. The life force is distant. I remember what you said the glamour will do to their bodies. And seeing the way Lucy acted around Jack was the last straw."

"But what will they do after it's gone?" Rarity countered. "Live in abject squalor?"

"Maybe they need to be woken up," Twilight mused. "And that would do it. They could find ways to rebuild this realm into something REAL."

"As it once was," Thor added. "I am sure Father would provide them a degree of aid in doing so."

"Do you hear what you are saying?" Cornelius argued. "You are speaking of destroying the lives of everyone in Alfheim!"

"Did they not already do that to themselves?" Loki spoke up.

"It don't seem right," Applejack insisted. "Neither does this glamour, but there's gotta be a better way than just destroyin' it all."

"Got any ideas?" Rainbow Dash asked her.

"…No," Applejack admitted. "And you?"

"I'm…not sure," Rainbow Dash confessed. "Twilight makes a lot of sense, but so do Cornelius and Rarity."

"THANK you," Rarity sighed.

"It's so pretty, though!" Pinkie Pie moaned.

"That's no reason to let this evil magic live," Sif argued.

"It should be taken down immediately as justice!" Volstagg commented.

"I still wish to see what they have to hide," Oswald stated.

"I don't know if it's right either," Gwendolyn contributed.

"You all know already that Jack and I are sick of it," Thorgil added.

"But it's the only life they know," Fluttershy said. "We can't just take it all away."

"It's a lie," Jack pointed out. "What is better: to live in a lie or to know the truth?"

That silenced the group for a while.

At last, Applejack declared: "The truth. Always the truth."

"So should we do it?" Rarity asked. "Are we REALLY going to use the Elements to dispel the glamour? Is it right?"

"I don't know if we really can know which way is right," Twilight confessed. "I just think it might be better to take a chance on fixing it than to just…let everything be like this."

"I will endorse the use of thy powers for such an act," Thor declared.

"I doubt you have such reign over them, brother," Loki reminded him.

"And those of us who don't have those powers?" Gwendolyn asked. "Is this right?"

"If we dispel the glamour, the elves will see the truth, and they will rejoin reality and the life force," Velvet stated. "If we do not, they may very well become our enemies. You may have forgotten that Jack and Thorgil also spoke of the elves making human sacrifices to demons in order to keep this glamour. All else they said has been proven true. Were we not in the company of Thor, Loki, Gwendolyn, Oswald, and Sif, who is to say we would not have been those sacrifices?"

Twilight remembered Nimüe's final comment and shivered. "Nimüe…I think she wanted to use us for exactly that. She said we would have brought her happiness if we had stayed. I think she wanted to TRADE us."

"I believe it is a risk we must take," Velvet insisted. "I may be swayed, as I have never seen glamour used for good. But I can see no good that can come of it here. We will most certainly not walk away with the alliance of the elves. But we will walk away having given them the truth, and the choice to decide what to make of it."

"It won't make them happy," Jack warned.

"We can certainly handle whatever they have to send our way," Loki claimed.

"Would you do this?" Thor asked Twilight.

"I…think the six of us should discuss it first," Twilight stated. "On our own."

"It is your power," Gwendolyn agreed, "and your choice."

Twilight stepped a few paces away, motioning for Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash to follow her. Once all six were gathered, Twilight stated, "I don't want to do this unless we're all in agreement. I still think that even if we can't know if it's the RIGHT thing to do, it's probably the BEST thing to do. This glamour isn't doing anypony any favors."

Applejack nodded. "It ain't right just to live a lie."

"I feel bad for the elves if we do this," Fluttershy added, "but Velvet is right. I feel even worse for those children I saw in the ballroom. If this helps them, it will be worth it."

"I think we gotta blast it," Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm still not sure what that cake was I actually ate," Pinkie Pie pointed out. "I kinda wanna know that."

Rarity then nodded. "I still don't know if this is right either. But I see your reasoning. I have decided that I am willing to take this risk. However, are you sure the Elements can dispel an enchantment over an entire world?"

"I think so," Twilight said with a nod. "Glamour is a complicated spell with a simple structure. Getting rid of it is like turning on a light in a dark room. It should actually be easier than facing off against Voldemort was."

"We should tell the others," Fluttershy resolved.

They moved back to the rest of the party. "We are going to do it," Rarity stated. "We shall remove this glamour from Alfheim."

Velvet nodded. "I believe that is best."

"As do I," Thor agreed.

"And I," Gwendolyn decided.

"Well, then…" Twilight resolved, "let's go."

"Does your magic need to be done from a special place?" Cornelius asked. "Should we journey to the high point, or the center of the realm?"

"I think we can just do it wherever," Twilight replied. "Right here."

"Then we shall leave you to your work," Thor promised. The ten Asgardians and two Midgardians stepped back.

"Good luck," Jack told Twilight.

"And good riddance to THIS!" Thorgil crowed.

The six Equestrians stood together in a circle, facing each other. "Well, I suppose this is it," Rarity announced. "We're about to change a world from right here."

"Before we do this," Twilight asked, "did anypony change their mind?"

She was met with silence and shaking heads.

"Okay," Twilight resolved. "Let's do it."

The sphere of white light formed around them. The great rainbow burst from the six up into the air, continuing on and on into the sky.

The others stared either upward or at the light sphere in awe. "It is rather reminiscent of the Bifrost," Sif pointed out.

"I've never seen any magic like that," Jack breathed, stunned.

The rainbow then collided with the damaged moon, and it spread out over the entire sky, enveloping the darkness and the multicolored stars. It kept spreading and spreading until it filled the entire sky.

"No doubt the elves have now noticed," Loki pointed out. "It might be wise to be prepared for what they are going to do when this is over."

The entire realm was then filled with nearly blinding light, and the rainbow's colors blended together until it too was white light. It became brighter, brighter, obscuring the surrounding lands, washing from them everything that was not truly there. After only a minute that seemed to last an hour, the light faded. The sky was no longer covered. The rainbow had dissolved. The Element bearers stood on the ground once more.

When the light cleared away, the sight left behind was horrifying.

...

Chapter 89:

· This chapter was originally going to be even longer. EVEN LONGER. I was going to resolve all the events of Alfheim in one go, but then I saw just how many pages I'd already typed and how much I had left to get through and I realized it was better to split it up. Cliffhanging after the Elements dispelled the glamour seemed like a wonderful place to leave you all anyway.

· Brunhilde still has the Valkyrie camp seen in Tales of Asgard.

· In the Trolls Trilogy, elves do not, in fact, have souls, and are barred from Heaven and presumably any pleasant afterlife because they're half-fallen angels. I've twisted this concept a bit because I didn't want the elves to be completely heartless. After all, these are the elves that are usually allied with Midgard, and I'm going to let you know, just for world-building purposes, that the elves of most other worlds are descended from the main tribes on Svartalfheim and Alfheim. Meaning that all the elves in LOTR and Inheritance can trace roots aaaaall the way back to Alfheim. Couldn't have their race be Always Chaotic Evil in that case. I do not, however, fault Farmer for that characterization; she pulled from a LOT of legends and primary sources on how the Norse people perceived elves (trust me, the woman has done way more research than I have on all things Norse).

· The entire design of Alfheim is taken from Land of the Silver Apples. There, it's actually simplified to "Elfland." I decided to have that be the name of a nation within Alfheim because there is one more territory that I'm bringing in to be part of Alfheim's composition and most certainly is not a part of the elves' domain. It's another area specified in Land of the Silver Apples.

· Originally, I wasn't going to have Nuada show up, but I realized this part of the story needed more villain involvement. And he's not the last baddie who's going to turn up in Alfheim on this trip…

· Loki and Nuada are quite fun to play up as allies because they're actually very similar (thinking themselves superior to humanity, daddy issues, able to murder twenty people in a single fight)…they just don't know it at this point in time.

· The hall with the sun isn't explicitly stated to be a ballroom (I actually think Farmer's intent was to have it be part of the throne room proper), but the main characters do dance across it, so I figured…why not?

· Canonically, Thorgil has suspected Jack has feelings for her…she overheard him calling her "my love" when he panicked and thought she had died in Islands of the Blessed. He later denied it.

· Twilight's awkwardness with the waltz is inspired by her memetically crazy dance in MLPFIM canon.

· I swear to the gods I am not trying to ship Thorlight. But they keep getting close. Basically, I'm not going to move them beyond friends in this story, but if you want to headcanon that they had some sort of feelings for each other, I won't canonize or confirm it, but I won't tell you outright "No" either. And if you're inspired to ship Thorlight in other contexts because of this, proceed at full speed.

· In Land of the Silver Apples, Nimüe is blonde like the other elves. I changed her to brunette because that's the more traditionally accepted design for the original Arthurian character and the one that seems to be used in most other adaptations of her.