//------------------------------// // *Chapter 12 - Meeting the Four // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Sometime later, Cadance leads Arc to a room in the Guest Wing of the castle. As she opens the large double doors and walks inside with him, Arc looks around the chamber. To say it is luxurious would be an understatement. Cadance gestures with a hoof as she speaks. “This room is the designated living quarters for the Hero of Light. You are, of course, free to refurnish and decorate it as you see fit. I do hope it is to your liking.” Arc nods. “Thank you, Princess Cadence. It will more than suffice.” “You are welcome. Now then, I’m told that dinner will be ready soon. I'm sure you must be hungry after the day's events so I’ll leave you now to allow you a bit of rest. However, if you will excuse me, Princess Luna and I have a number of other matters to attend to.” Princess Cadance turns and leaves Arc there to survey his new surroundings. He talks to himself softly as he walks around the room. “The princesses certainly know how to host. I suppose the only thing it's missing are my friend's company. And one other thing...” He walks to the center of the room and kneels down. Touching his gauntlet to the floor, Arc places a large sigil and stands up again to look it over. “There we go. Now it’s perfect.” A short time later Arc leaves his room and joins his friends in the Dining Hall. As he arrives Arc finds the Mane Six and Ember talking amongst themselves as they wait for the kitchen staff to finish setting the table. Twilight looks over to him happily as he enters. “Arc! Glad you could join us!” Arc chuckles as he walks over to the group. “Glad to be back! I'm starving! This day has certainly been... eventful.” The kitchen staff has nearly finished setting the table when Arc approaches one of them and pulls them aside as he quietly speaks. “Set four more places. I'm expecting company.” “Yes sir!” Ember looks over, confused. “Who’s joining us for supper?” “It’s a surprise.” Pinkie bounces around the room happily. “Oh, oh! I love surprises!” A short time later the food is brought out and served as everyone sits down to enjoy the evening meal together. A few minutes later a Royal Guard enters the hall and approaches Arc. He respectfully salutes before speaking. “Sir, your squad has arrived. Shall I send them in?” Arc wipes his mouth with a napkin as he stands up. “No. I will address them first.” “As you will, sir!” Arc looks around as he walks toward the door with the guard. “By the way, where are the princesses? I thought they would be joining us here for dinner.” “I’m told that they are busy with their royal duties, sir. The order came down a little which ago and the kitchen staff has already sent food to their office.” Arc sighs. “Their crowns must be quite heavy.” “Sir?” “It… it’s nothing.” Ember looks over as Arc reaches toward the door. “Where do you think you’re going?!” “Just out to the hallway to greet someone. Be back in a few minutes.” Arc follows the Royal Guard out into the corridor to review the troops. His Lunar Protectors, clad in new armor bearing the same seal as on Arc’s shoulder, look to him and salute. “Awaiting orders, sir! Arc nods as he looks them over. “Very good. Now then, let's start off with the introductions. My name is Arc, Equestria's new Hero of Light. I know you all have stealth and subterfuge down pat, but I want to know more than just your records and ranks. What shall I call the rest of you and what are your backgrounds?” They step forward one by one and speak. “I am Viktor, sir. If it has mechanical or has moving parts, I'm your stallion!” “My name is Hugh, sir. I'm the charisma of the group. If you need some face to face infiltration done, I'm there!” “Maximilian, but everyone calls me Max, sir. I'm the thinker and overall planer of the group.” “Xenos, sir. I'm the muscle. If you need something taken out, call me!” Arc nods as begins pacing. “Very good. Now then, I have a job for you all, as a bit of a test.” He gestures to the dining room doors with a wave of his hand before continuing. “Beyond these doors is a very... diverse group of individuals. I want you four to enter with me and observe them. Learn everything you can from interactions. You have full permission to speak freely and join in the conversation as you see fit in the pursuance of your mission. However, they must not learn of your intel gathering intentions. Do you all understand?” They salute and reply in unison. “Sir! Yes sir!” “Very good. There will be a debriefing after supper. Now then, follow me.” Arc re-enters the dining room with his squad and calls out to those seated at the table. “If I might have everyone's attention! These four have been assigned to me as my squad. Their names are Viktor, Hugh, Max, and Xenos.” Arc turns to the four and points at his friends as he continues. “This is Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Ember. Be seated.” All assembled continue with their meal as Arc and the stallions take their seats. The troops enjoy lively banter with the ponies and even with Ember to a degree. An hour and a half later the meal comes to a close. Rarity giggles as they head for the door together. “Well, I must say, I haven't had so much fun at a dinner party in years. We simply MUST do this again sometime!” Pinkie bounces around the room. “Yeah! That was fun!” Applejack tosses her hat in the air as she looks to the squad. “Wooee! Have to say, that was some mighty fine conversation right there! I wish your four could come back to Ponyville with us!” Twilight nods. “Yes, I would like to continue our conversation on advance robotics some time, Viktor!” Ember looks over at Xenos and smiles. “I wouldn't mind sparring with you later either!” Even Fluttershy giggles at this. “And Max, you seem to have quite the knowledge of Equestrian animals. I do wish we could talk more.” Arc chuckles. “Remember everyone, as I said earlier, they have been assigned to me. So, they will be returning to Ponyville with us.” Rainbow Dash yawns. “That sounds great and all. In any case, I don't know about the rest of you, but I could do with some shuteye.” The rest of the Mane Six nod and leave the room. Ember follows them out as she turns to Arc. “You coming, big guy?” Arc shakes his head. “In a little while. I want to talk to my guys here for a bit. You go on ahead.” Ember walks over to Arc, puts her arms around his neck and gives his face a light lick. “Don’t be too long. As she leaves the room Arc turns back to his squad. “No one saw that, right?” They respond in unison. “Saw what, sir?” “Perfect answer. Now then take your seats, all of you.” They rush to do so as Arc walks to the head of the table and speaks. “Alright, debriefing time. What did all of you learn? Let’s start with you, Viktor.” “Twilight has a broad knowledge of a great many subjects and is quite talented in magic. However, she is quite insecure and appears to suffer from an acute case of OCD. I didn’t get the feeling that she has gotten out into the world very much either, preferring the comfort and quiet that her books offer. On the other hoof, Rainbow Dash is the complete opposite of Twilight. Outgoing, loyal, trustworthy… she’d probably make a fine addition to the military someday. That is, if she could learn to be disciplined.” Arc nods. “Good. Hugh?” “Rarity is quite the lady. She is charming, but forward. But I sense that she can be something of a drama queen. Her and Pinkie Pie share quite a few social traits. They just go about expressing them differently. In truth, I half expected Pinkie Pie to throw a pie at somepony all evening!” “Very perceptive. Max?” “Fluttershy is obsessed with animals. I have yet to meet someone whom knows more about them. She seems to have some kind of animal empathy which transcends all known language barriers. In all honesty, I believe that she really can communicate with them. Although quite shy, I can sense a strong will inside her that reveals itself when the time is right.” “Very good. And lastly, Xenos.” “Ember is quite the wild card. If she were a pony, she would certainly be great soldier material. I would trust her to watch my back any day, even if she still wants to jump you, sir. Her, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack seen to be the muscle of the group. But they’re so different. Ember and Rainbow Dash are the hotheads, while Applejack seems to be quite a bit more levelheaded. If the three of them ever teamed up, well, let's just say we would definitely need reinforcements to stop them.” Arc puts his hands on table and looks to his squad. “Good... very good... all of you. You carried out your mission to the letter. But I wonder just how accurate your findings truly were. I guess there is only one way to find out.” He walks over to the dining room doors and opens them wide. “Come in, all of you.” The Mane Six and Ember reenter the dining room and sit down. Arc looks to them and speaks. “All of you were listening in from the corridor. So how did my squad do?” Twilight looks over, a bit embarrassed. “At first, I thought they had me dead wrong. But upon further thought, they were right on the money." Rarity bows her head and sighs. “While I too am loathed to admit it, they did indeed describe me correctly.” Fluttershy replies softly. “Um... I think they were right about me as well.” Pinkie throws a pie at the squad. They easily dodge it. “Yeah! And I was holding that back ALL evening!” Ember turns to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “You know, maybe we SHOULD team up sometime!” Rainbow Dash does an aerial backflip. “That would be AWESOME!” Applejack chuckles. “I'll never underestimate the power of observation every again.” Ember laughs as she and Xenos fist-bump. “Oh! And they were totally right about Arc and I! I wanna jump him but good!” Max looks over at Arc. “Sir, there’s one thing I still don't understand though. What was the purpose of this exercise?” “First off, I wanted to test your abilities to be discrete. See what you could do in the optimal environment. Second, I felt everyone needed to get acquainted. Who knows, we might all be working together one day. But for now, all of us should probably get to bed. After all, tomorrow is another day.” As the Mane Six and Ember proceed to their quarters, for real this time, the squad looks to Arc for direction. “We should get to bed as well methinks.” Xenos looks over to him. “Sir? I just have to ask... why? Why did you choose us?” Hugh nods. “Do tell! We are certainly not Lunar Protector material!” Arc taps the table with a finger. “That right there is the reason I chose you four. Because you were NOT like the others. I saw during the war games that you were able to work together to complete a challenge that none could complete on their own. And we’re going to expand on that coordination. From now on you four will eat, sleep and train together. I want you all working on ways to get more in sync for whatever lies ahead. This exercise tonight was merely practice to that end.” Max looks over to his new commanding officer. “What does lie ahead for us, sir?” Arc sighs as he stands. Turning, he looks out the window at the beautiful night sky before responding to Max’s question. “Time will tell. Sooner or later... time will tell...”