//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 - Bare Honesty // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Arc heads for his room to retrieve some clean clothes. He does his best not to disturb Ember who is sleeping soundly. Calling forth his helmet, Arc whispers… “Sorry Cherry, but I’d just like some alone time for a bit.” “I understand. See you in a bit.” He sets the helmet down on the dresser and picks up the clothes. Quietly closing the bedroom door he turns to see Rose sitting on the couch watching the fire. She does not move as he heads to the Bathroom. “Is she… sleeping? Nah!” Entering the Bathroom, Arc disrobes and steps into the shower. He stands there for a time, thinking. Sighing, he mutters to himself. “Rose… what do I do with you?! Twilight, why did you feel it necessary to…” He rubs his face judiciously and turns away from the shower head. Walking to the opposite end of his rather large shower Arc bangs his head lightly on the tile wall as he continues muttering to himself. “I should probably finish and get to bed here soon. But… I need to figure out how to apologize to Twilight. What do I say to her?! Come on, think!” Suddenly Arc feels a pair of arms around his midsection! “How about just ‘I’m sorry’?” Arc face turns beet red. “R-Rose?! What are you DOING in here?!” She giggles. “Don’t worry! This unit is completely waterproof!” “That’s not what I meant!” Rose sounds confused. “I heard you talking to yourself in the other room. You sounded a bit sad. I’m here to make you feel better! And I think it’s working! My sensors show your heart rate is now much higher!” Arc throws open the shower curtain, stretches out a hand toward the stack of nearby towels and uses his magic to quickly pull one to himself! He does not turn around as he wraps the towel securely around his midsection. Rose continues to hug his backside as he does so. “Rose, you can’t come in here when I’m in the shower! It isn’t decent!” As Arc uses his magic to pull another towel to his hand Rose looks over to the soap sitting on the shelf. “Should I help you wash your back?! I can be helpful! Really I can!” Rose reaches over and tries to pick up the soap. However it is wet and slips out of her hand and clatters to the floor of the shower. Arc turns around and quickly wraps a tower around Rose’s bare midsection. His face turning ever more red as he gently pushes her out of the shower. “Rose, I don’t want…!” His foot catches the bar of soap Rose dropped a moment earlier. Before he can react, Arc finds himself slipping head over heels backwards. His head crashes against the tile wall. Arc lies there dazed for a few moments before losing consciousness. Slowly Arc’s vision comes into focus. “Ugh… what the…?” Arc sits up slowly and rubs the back of his head. Rose is kneeing on the floor in front of him crying her eyes out. She looks to him as he slowly sits up through her fingers. “Arc, I’m so sorry! I… I should just go! You’re better off without me around! All I do is cause trouble wherever I go! Arc shakes his head as he moves to lean against the wall. “No, Rose. You just try too hard.” “Wha… what do you mean?!” “I can tell you’ve been doing your best. But it always ends badly.” Rose bursts into fresh hysterics. “I’ve been trying my very hardest to please you! I really have!” Arc sits up and leans toward her. “It’s okay, Rose. I know.” He wraps his arms around her shoulders and pulls her into a hug. Rose presses her face against his chest. “How can you stand to look at me after all I’ve done?! I messed up the salad, knocked the pots off the stove, almost burned Dinky and tipped over the kitchen table! Why don’t you just ask Twilight to dismantle me?! You’d certainly be better off without me!” Arc shakes his head. “No. I’m not getting rid of you over a few mistakes.” Arc continues to hold Rose as she cries. After a little while he is able to calm her down enough to continue the conversation. Rose sniffles. “Why don’t you at least send me away until I’m not so incompetent?” “Because you don’t do that to friends, Rose. You don’t throw away a friendship over a few… mistakes…” Rose looks up and sees a faraway look in Arc’s eyes. She sits back on her knees. “Arc? Is everything okay?! Did… did you hurt yourself?!” “No, Rose. I’m fine. Really! It’s just… I just realized what a terrible mistake I’ve made.” “YOU made?! I’m the one who…” “With Twilight! She did something that I didn’t agree with and I overreacted. Tomorrow I need to make this right between her and I.” Rose wipes her eyes. “You mean ‘we’, right?! I’m the one she wanted to dismantle, remember?!” Arc sighs. “If you really want to come I won’t stop you. But she might try to destroy you again.” Rose smiles up at him weakly through her red and puffy eyes as she takes his hands in hers. “I’ll take my chances!” “Fine. But would you do me one favor?” “Anything!” Arc blushes again. “Can you please leave the room so I can get dressed?” Rose tilts her head to the side, confused. “Is that not what this room is for?” “Amongst other things, yes.” Rose stands up. “Alright Arc!” She quickly leaves the Bathroom and closes the door behind her. Arc stands up and turns off the shower, shaking his head. “Rose. You’re just so… innocent, I guess.” Arc turns to finish drying himself. A moment later the door opens and Rose walks into the Bathroom yet again. Arc grabs his towel and wraps it around his waist hurriedly. “Rose! I thought I told you to…!” She holds the clothes Arc lent her to her chest. A confused look on her face. “But I thought you said getting dressed is what this room is for.” Arc blushes. “It… it is, but…” Rose looks down at the clothing in her arms and smiles. “Well, that’s what I need to do as well! We can get dressed together!” Arc rolls his eyes. “Rose… definitely innocent.” He steps out into the Living Room and finishes dressing in front of the fireplace as Rose dresses in the Bathroom. Arc pulls a clean shirt over his head as he mutters to himself. “You still have a lot to learn, Rose.” Arc sits down on the couch to wait. A short time later Rose emerges and walks over to Arc and turns around to show him her now properly covered form. “Is this better, Arc?” “Much!” Rose smiles. “It appears your heart rate has returned to normal as well.” Arc sighs. “Now are you certain you wouldn’t want me to show you to one of the Guest Rooms? You’d certainly be more comfortable.” Rose shakes her head. “As I am not truly alive, comfort is not something I understand.” “Um… what?” She smiles sheepishly. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’ll be fine out here.” Arc yawns. “Well, okay. If you’re sure.” He stands up and stretches before putting another log on the fire. Turning back to Rose and smiling as he does so. “Just a little something extra to see to it you stay warm.” “Thank you, but I’ll be just fine even without the fire.” “Okay. Goodnight Rose. I’ll see you in the morning.” “Sleep well, Arc!” Arc enters his room and heads for the dresser. He quietly picks up his helmet and touches it to his forehead. Cherry speaks to him telepathically as she enters his head. “You certainly took a long time in the shower, Arc! I was beginning to worry!” “Sorry. I’ll tell you all about it in a few minutes.” Cherry giggles excitedly. “All right! See you in your dreams!” A few minutes later Arc falls asleep. Momentarily he finds himself on Cherry’s front porch. She smiles as she walks over to him and jumps onto the swing. “Hello again, sleepyhead!” Arc leans over to give her a hug. “I missed you, Cherry. It feels like forever since the last time I saw you.” “It’s been less than a day, silly.” “Well, it was one heck of a day.” Cherry nods. “Yes it was! I’ll be happy when you and Twilight reconcile your differences though!” Arc puts his arm around her as they gaze out at the sunset. “So will I, Cherry. So will I.” Morning comes earlier than either Arc or Cherry would have liked. Arc opens his eyes as the first rays of light shine in through the window. Ember begins to stir as well. “Morning Arc.” Arc yawns. “Another day.” Ember stretches. “I needed that extra rest. How did…” A strange look suddenly crosses Arc’s face. “Arc? Is something wrong?” Wordlessly, Arc pulls back his covers. Rose is curled up next to him with her cheek pressed against his chest. She looks up at him, smiling. “Good morning, Arc.” Ember grins. “Wow… talk about forward, Rose!” Rose looks to Ember. A confused look on her face. “Forward? Do you mean because I am in front of Arc?” “Not… exactly.” Rose looks back into Arc’s eyes before looking down at her clothes. “I’m sorry, Arc. I didn’t think about it last night, but lying here has probably wrinkled the garments you lent me. Next time I’ll be sure to take everything off before getting into bed with you.” Arc blushes feverishly. “I… uh… please don’t.” “Why not? I certainly don’t want to mess them up. And while I know you have a problem with walking around uncovered, I don’t mind it at all.” Ember laughs. “Rose, you’re a very brave young lady!” “I am? How so?” Arc sits up. “Rose, please don’t get into my bed like that.” Rose appears genuinely confused. “Why not? Ember does it all the time.” “Wait! How did you know THAT?!” Ember shrugs. “Don’t look at me.” Arc thinks for a moment. “I’m pretty sure I never mentioned THAT to Twilight.” Ember looks away nervously. “Well… I’ve never really been shy about who I tell that to, so it’s not too surprising that it got back to her.” Arc puts a hand on Rose’s shoulder. “It’s okay this time, Rose. Just please don’t do it in the future. Okay?” Rose sighs. “Okay.” Arc gets up. “Besides, I thought you said you didn’t need sleep.” “I normally don’t. However, I used the opportunity to go into Standby Mode.” Ember looks confused. “What’s that?” “It’s where this unit puts its body into its lowest possible energy consumption mode in an effort to recharge the reserve batteries.” Arc nods. “So… you do sleep.” “No, I recharge.” Ember rolls her eyes. “That’s sleeping!” Rose puts a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “I suppose it is loosely like sleeping.” Arc shrugs. “Pretty much.” They leave the Bedroom together. Rose latches onto Arc’s arm and smiles up at him. “Did you sleep well, Arc?” “Very much so, yes. Why do you ask?” “I was worried, as I couldn’t see you.” Ember chuckles. “Is that when you decided to come in?” Rose nods. “Yes. And it was a good thing I did.” Arc looks confused. “Really?” “It was! As soon as I got into your bed you put your arms around me and wouldn’t let me go for quite some time!” Ember punches Arc lightly on the arm. “Way to go, tiger.” Arc blushes slightly. “Yes, well… I didn’t hurt you, did I?” “No. This unit is built for great amounts of duress. It’s unlikely you could ever accidently do anything that would damage me.” The trio heads to the Cafeteria for an early breakfast. Saffron is just setting out the food. She turns from her work to greet the early risers. “Good morning commander. I see you’ve made yet another friend.” “Something like that. Rose, this is…” “Saffron. Chef of Light’s Hope, correct?” Saffron nods, surprised. “Y-yes, I am! But how did you know that?!” Rose smiles at her. “I’ve been programmed with all pertinent knowledge on how to best serve Arc!” Ember, seeing Saffron’s confused look, walks over to her. “She’s a robot. I don’t get it either.” “Oh… well if the commander says you’re okay, then you are welcome in my Kitchen anytime, miss!” “Thank you!” “So… can I get you anything, Miss Rose?” Rose shakes her head. “No, thank you. And please feel free to call me Rose.” Smiling, Rose looks over to Arc and Ember. “How about I get you two something to eat?” Arc nods. “Um… okay. Just do me one favor.” Rose looks to him, confused. “A favor?” “Don’t rush it. Take your time, okay?” “I will!” Saffron turns to her. “I’ll give you a hoof, Rose.” “Thank you very much.” Rose heads to the buffet with Saffron as Arc and Ember head to a table and sit down. Ember looks over to Arc. “Did something happen last night?” Arc blushes feverishly. “No! I was asleep the whole time! I swear!” Ember laughs. “That’s not what I meant, silly! I mean, did Rose get a bit carried away after I went to bed last night?” “A bit overzealous, I suppose.” Arc recalls the previous day’s mistakes to Ember. Ember looks over to Rose and Saffron at the buffet. “Well… she’s certainly driven!” Arc nods as Saffron helps Rose balance a plate in either hand. “I’ll give her that. But… I just wonder how happy she is.” “She seems quite happy when you’re around.” Arc sighs. “Yes but… that’s because she’s programmed to feel that way. How Twilight accomplished that feat is beyond me.” Ember nods as Rose carefully sets the plates of food in front of them. “Hopefully Twilight can let you in on that. If she doesn’t blast you first, that is!” Arc narrows his eyes. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ember.” Rose smiles as she sits down with a glass of water. “Don’t worry, Arc. I’ll protect you.” “Thanks… I think. But I really do deserve whatever Twilight dishes out to me.” Rose looks confused. “Dishes out? Like this food?” Ember sighs. “Not exactly.” “Yes, well… I’d like to finish eating and head over to the library… and get it over with.” They finish their meal and stand up as Rose picks up their dishes. Ember turns to Arc. “You want me to come with you?” He shakes his head. “I think Rose and I should go alone. Bringing anyone else into this is likely to make Twilight angrier than she already is.” Ember looks rather nervous. “Are you sure? I could wait outside… you know… in case things go south.” “That is tempting, but I’d like to resolve this myself. It’s me she’s angry at, after all.” “Suit yourself! Good luck over there!” Arc sighs as Ember leaves the Cafeteria. “Thanks. I think I’ll need it.” Rose returns to Arc’s side momentarily. “Are we ready to go, Arc?” Arc sighs. “I suppose.” The pair leave the base and head down the road together. Rose looks to him, concerned. “Are you not well, Arc? Your heart rate is abnormal again.” “Just nervous, that’s all.” Rose nods. “About seeing the administrator again?” “Yeah. I don’t really want to lose her forever, you know.” “Then are you certain this is the best course of action?” Arc sighs. “I am. If I don’t mend this bridge soon…” The pair arrive at the Golden Oaks Library. Arc hesitates a moment before knocking. A few moments later Auriel answers the door. She greets Arc with a pained expression. “Oh… um… hi Arc.” “Hi Auriel. Is Twilight around?” Auriel nods and looks over her shoulder, nervously. “Y-yes, she is. Um… won’t you please come in?” “Thank you.” As they enter, Auriel points to the basement door. “She’s… downstairs.” Arc nods. “I’ll go talk to her.” “Wait!” “Yes, Auriel?” She looks down at the floor. “I… I just thought you should know that Twilight… hasn’t been herself since the other day.” Arc sighs. “Yes, well… I want to see if I can fix that.” Auriel sighs. “In that case, I’m coming with you.” Rose grabs Arc’s arm. “Me too!” “Okay. But this isn’t exactly a good idea.” Rose frowns. “Neither is you going alone!” “Point taken.” The trio descends the stairs together. Twilight is busy working on something at her workbench. Auriel calls out as they reach the bottom. “Twilight?” “Hmmm?” “You’re… um… we have company.” Twilight nods. Totally engrossed in her work. “Oh? Who is it?” “It’s… uh… Arc.” With a quick wave of her hoof, Twilight pushes the contents of her workbench onto the floor, scattering them everywhere. She whirls around and angrily looks toward Arc. “There! I’ve just smashed what I was working on! That saves you the effort! You can go now!” Arc sighs. “Twilight, I…” Twilight continues her tirade as she slowly walks over to him. “You can just call next time and save a trip! I’ll break whatever it is I’m studying at the moment!” “I… uh…” “Anything ELSE you want smashed?!” She looks menacingly at Rose, who steps back to stand with Auriel behind Arc. “So what brings you here today?! Be quick about it!” Twilight gestures with a hoof at the smashed project. “Thanks to you, I have a lot of work to catch up on!” “I… uh… thought you would like to know I spoke to the princesses yesterday about Rose.” She angrily glares in the android’s direction. “Let me guess. You were easily able to convince them that she should keep following you around?!” Arc shakes her head. “Actually, they agreed with your point of view.” A look of confusion crosses her face. “They did?” Rose nods. “It’s true. They both said I should be dismantled.” Twilight turns back to her workbench. “And you want ME to do it, is that right?! Sorry, but I’m kinda busy at the moment. Why don’t you just take her outside and throw a few fireballs in her direction?!” Rose gulps nervously. “It’s not like it would hurt her or anything! You could think of it as mercy! Put everything you’ve got into a single spell and she would probably just blow up!” Arc steps quickly toward the workbench. “Alright, Twilight! That’s about enough of that kind of talk!” Twilight spins around and meets him halfway. “Really?! I thought you ENJOYED destroying things!” “That’s not true and you know it!” She jumps up on a nearby table to look Arc in the eye. “Really?! Could have fooled me, Arc!” Arc glares at her. “Take it down a notch, Twilight! I’m TRYING to apologize here!” Twilight gets right in Arc’s face! “REALLY?! Then try harder!” Arc puts his forehead against Twilight’s horn and yells at her! “I will if you’ll give me half a chance!” Auriel begins to shake in fear. Rose puts an arm around her and whispers words of comfort into her ear. “It’s okay, Auriel. Everything’s going to work out! You’ll see!” “Half a chance?! Did you give my research notes half a chance before destroying them and storming out of here?!” Arc stands his ground, equally determined. “Oh yeah?! Well, did you think about MY feelings before trying to build another Cherry?!” “You needed the companionship! Humans need OTHER HUMANS to keep them company!” Arc growls at her. “I get by!” “Oh?! Not from where I stood! You were moping around like a lost puppy!” “How would you know?! You haven’t left you lab in how long now?!” Twilight throws up her hooves. “Of course! I was busy designing Rose for YOU! Not that it seemed to matter much to…” The sound of muffled crying can be heard. Both Arc and Twilight stop arguing and turn toward its source. They see Auriel on her knees with her face in her claws. Rose is kneeling down behind her in an effort to comfort her. Surprised, Twilight jumps down from the table and hurries over to the demon. “A-Auriel?! What’s wrong?! Did SHE do something to hurt you?!” Auriel shakes her head. “N-no.” “This isn’t Rose’s fault, Twilight! Stop blaming everything on her!” “ME?! I…!” Auriel continues to cry as Arc and Twilight go back to arguing! Rose stands up! “Stop it, both of you! Don’t you see what’s happening here?!” Arc looks to her, confused. “Rose? What are you talking about?!” Rose reaches down to put a hand on Auriel’s trembling shoulder. “The more you two fight, the worse Auriel feels!” Auriel nods sadly as she speaks. “You… you see… back in Tartarus, the other demons would spend an inordinate amount of time arguing amongst themselves! I always hated hearing it!” Arc sighs. “Is that why you stayed in your library back home?” She nods. “It was quiet there. Peaceful! Like this place used to be.” Twilight turns back to Arc. “You see what you did?!” “ME?! You were the one who…!” Auriel covers her ears, closes her eyes and screams! “ENOUGH!!!” She collapses into hysterics as Rose continues to try and console her. Cherry calls out to them. “Please! You both really need to stop this! Can’t you see what it’s doing to those around you?!” Arc sighs. “I… yeah.” He turns back to Twilight. “Look, I’m really sorry for what I said and did yesterday, Twilight. It was wrong for me to do what I did.” Rose looks over at Twilight. “Is there something you want to say to Arc, administrator?” Twilight turns and walks back toward her workbench, coldly. “Not particularly. I did my best for him, after all! And what did I get in return? That kindness thrown back in my face and all my hard work burned before my eyes!” She stops and turns back to look at Arc. Fury in her eyes. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to lose that which you’ve worked so hard to accomplish, Arc?! Have to start over from SCRATCH?! To have someone take EVERYTHING from you?! To… to… to………….” Twilight turns away suddenly as her voice trails off. Arc nods and responds in an even tone. “I do. The day a rather tipsy, but well-intentioned unicorn brought me here to Equestria.” Twilight does not look back. “Arc, I… um…” Arc looks over his shoulder at Auriel and Rose. “Would you two please excuse us for a minute?” Rose nods as she helps Auriel stand and leads her up the stairs toward the main level. As the basement door closes behind them, he approaches Twilight and put a hand on her shoulder. “I… I’m really sorry for what I did… and what I said to you yesterday, Twilight. I really am!” Twilight does not move. “Look, if you don’t want to be friends anymore, I completely understand. But… can we at least be civil to one another from now on? For Auriel’s sake?” Arc sighs as Twilight remains silent. Not having anything else to say, he turns around and heads for the stairs. “I’ll take that as your answer. For what it’s worth, Twilight, I’m sorry and I’ll do my best not to bother you needlessly in the future.” As Arc puts his foot on the first step, Twilight finally breaks her silence. “Arc?” He stops but does not turn back around. “Yes, Twilight?” “I… um… I just wanted to tell you… I… I’m sorry too. Can you ever forgive me for those terrible things I said?!” Arc turns around and walks back to Twilight. He kneels down to her level. “Of course! I snapped… you snapped… and it kinda escalated from there.” He leans forward to give Twilight a hug which she returns. As she rests her head happily on his shoulder, she whispers in his ear. “I’m not even sure why I was so angry at the time.” Arc sighs. “Well, I know why I was.” Twilight leans back. “You do?” “Yes. Twilight… I… I think you and I need to have a talk.” Twilight sits down on a lab stool. “Okay… what about?” Arc sits down next to her and sighs. “A lot of things.”