The next day Arc and his squad hike through the woods together with Rose, Sereb, and Ember bringing up the rear. Ember looks around and frowns.
“This place is really off the beaten path.”
Max nods. “That it is.”
Viktor steps over a fallen log. “It’s understandable. After all, if I wanted to keep something hidden and safe this would be a prime location.”
Sereb looks up to them. “Indeed. I believe ‘isolated’ or ‘remote’ would be the proper words for it.”
Xenos chuckles. “We’re almost there, sir.”
“Good. Hugh, did you bring the camera?”
Hugh nods. “Yes sir. I’ll take a number of shots from various angles.”
Rose giggles. “That won’t really be necessary. I do have a photographic memory, after all.”
Ember shrugs. “Well, some extra pictures won’t hurt.”
Arc chuckles. “I think Rose means her memory is downloadable to image files.”
“Yes.”
Ember smiles. “Handy!”
They step out of the woods onto a sandy beach. Arc looks around.
“This place looks familiar.”
Ember turns to him. “You mean you’ve been here before?”
Arc shakes his head. “Not to this beach, no. But I have seen that facility before.”
Sereb frowns. “Oh?”
“It’s visible from the highway. That is, if I’m thinking of the same place. Viktor, can I see the map?”
“Yes sir.”
He removes a folded up map from his pocket and hands it to Arc. Unfolding it he looks it over for a few moments before giving it back.
“I thought so. This is the military base about thirty miles outside of Angel Grove.”
Ember gasps. “WHAT?! Princess Celestia was this close the whole time?!”
Sereb sighs. “So it would seem.”
Rose nods soberly. “There wasn’t any way we could have known.”
Cherry calls out to them. “Well I for one find that structure creepy!”
Sereb growls. “It is rather… disconcerting.”
Max turns to Rose. “Are you picking anything from Equestria on your sensors, Rose?”
“I am not. However, this whole area is pretty much dead for me.”
Hugh raises an eyebrow. “Dead?”
Viktor turns to his friend. “She means a dead sensor area, Hugh.”
Xenos frowns. “So something over there is blocking you?”
Rose nods. “Yes. Whether that something is a mechanical device or a naturally occurring phenomenon is unknown.”
Ember grits her teeth. “Well, it doesn’t really matter, now does it.”
Sereb looks up at her. “Ember?”
“Machine or natural, the results are the same. And we can’t counter whatever it is as it stands, right?”
Viktor sighs. “Correct.
Arc looks around. “Sunburst can probably scry this small area. Or at the very least attempt to.”
Rose nods as she turns to Arc. “It is indeed worth a try. However, his attempts may meet with the same results as my own efforts.”
Xenos shrugs. “Still better than going in blind though.”
Arc frowns. “Agreed. So let’s talk about what we can see from here.”
Sereb looks around. “I must point out that this area is very scenic.”
Cherry sighs. “If not for that base looming over us, I would agree.”
Rose turns back toward the woods. “That it is. However, as you most likely noticed from the walk here, there really isn’t any easy access to this beach.”
Max points across the water at a bridge. “I suppose you could launch a boat from the side of the road.”
Viktor shudders. “That might not go over too well with the guards, er… police. The road and facility it leads up to are both government property.”
Ember turns to Arc. “What about where we are?”
“What about it?”
“Are we going to be in trouble for trespassing?”
Viktor shakes his head. “I checked the map before we left. This land is actually the border of a public park, so we should be totally fine.”
“Good.”
Arc looks across the water at the small, heavily fortified island.
“So that’s it, huh?”
Max points across the water. “Yes sir. As you can see, that bridge is the only access point to the facility.”
Ember frowns. “No docks?”
Xenos shakes his head. “Not that we could see, no.”
“I took the liberty of investigating the far side of the island. There’s nothing over there of interest.”
Arc appears surprised. “How did you manage that, Rose? Swim?”
“Um… kinda.”
Viktor chuckles. “We suggested that originally. But then Rose pointed out that she could just walk over there.”
Ember gasps. “On the water?!”
Max shakes his head. “Under it actually.”
“I have little to no buoyancy, as I don’t contain lungs or oxygen is any large quantity.”
Ember appears impressed. “How long did it take to get over there?”
“A couple hours of walking.”
Arc scans the horizon. “Really? It doesn’t look that far.”
Rose sighs. “It is when you’re walking through water and mud.”
Max nods. “Rose was pretty tired by the time she got back.”
Xenos grins. “Yeah. I gave her a piggy back ride when we left to save what was left of her batteries.”
Ember turns to Hugh. “Any breaks in that wall?”
“Not that we or Rose could see.”
Viktor points across the water. “Other than the main gate at the far end of the bridge, no.”
Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “How about satellite images from the internet?”
Viktor shakes his head. “Nothing of use there, sir.”
Max sighs. “The images that we found were very distorted.”
Hugh frowns. “Almost as if someone was trying to hide the fact the base was there.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “That’s not suspicious at all.”
Arc pulls a pair of binoculars from his ring and holds them to his eyes.
“There’s a guard shack next to the gate and a couple soldiers inside.”
Rose looks toward the base. “Two more guards are in each tower on either side of said gate as well.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Is that normal?”
Arc turns to her. “What do you mean?”
“I dunno. It just seems like a lot of eyes watching an easily defendable main entrance.”
She point a finger at the road leading up to the bridge.
“See how the road curves sharply before it connects to the bridge? Any vehicle that tried to cross would have to slow down to almost nothing or risk falling off that cliff.”
Rose nods soberly. “Ember’s right. That and the bridge’s width and length makes for quite the bottleneck.”
Max grits his teeth. “Any large scale land based assault would certainly fail.”
Ember snaps her fingers. “What about a vehicle equipped with the O.R.B system like The Equinox has?”
Xenos points to two large defensive turrets on either side of the bridge. “Those guns could knock out pretty much anything crossing the bridge.”
Hugh grimaces. “Or even take out the bridge itself as a last resort.”
Rose nods. “It would certainly bring any attack to a standstill as well as force the attackers to retreat, or be picked off one by one.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Someone certainly put a lot of thought into picking this location. Isolated, easily defended, and with enough firepower to make sure any attack would fail.”
Rose turns to him. “So how are we getting in there?”
“That bridge and gate are the only real entrances.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Yeah. If you wanted to commit suicide, that is.”
Xenos looks to Rose. “What if we were invisible?”
“I’m detecting a large amount of electricity going to those towers. More than would be used to run search lights.”
Arc groans. “You think they have motion sensors?”
“At best, yes. Possibly even thermal scanners.”
Ember shudders. “If they saw us coming we wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”
Max nods. “Or cover of any kind.”
Ember sighs. “We could jump off the bridge and swim for shore.”
Arc shakes his head. “A fall from that height would be fatal. Even into water.”
Hugh walks over to Arc. “I’ve taken several pictures of the bridge and front entrance. As best I could anyways.”
Rose nods. “As have I.”
“It’ll have to do.”
“I’ve already begun running simulations.”
Xenos looks hopeful. “Of how to get in?”
“Yes. Along with our chances of survival.”
Max groans.. “I wish you hadn’t put it like that.”
Cherry sighs. “Me either.”
Arc shrugs. “Rose is just being honest. This is definitely going to be the most dangerous thing we’ve done as of yet. It’s going to take a lot of planning as well as some new equipment from Canterlot.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I spoke with Sunburst about the idea of designing a few new tools for us. Can’t be too prepared, after all.”
Max grins. “Like what, sir?”
“I’m not really sure what he can and can’t design yet. Let’s just wait until he has the gear tested and in hand before we start making plans around it.”
Rose nods. “That would be wise.”
Ember looks back across the water. “Well, does anyone see anything here we can use?”
Xenos shakes his head. “Just a bridge that we can’t.”
Arc looks around. “That may be. But I doubt that’s the only way in.”
Max turns to him. “Any other hidden doors or entrances would certainly be heavily guarded by humans or machines, sir.”
Hugh looks to Rose. “What about a distraction?”
“Too unpredictable.”
Arc kneels down and takes a handful of sand. “Yeah. But right now I’m really digging this beach.”
Viktor raises an eyebrow. “Sir?”
“It’s the perfect place to sit and have a picnic. Maybe even watch the sunset.”
Ember looks at him as though he’s lost his mind. “Um… you do remember that we’re planning a mission here, right?”
“Yes, Ember. But everyone’s always saying I need to rest. Take some time off and do something to relax.”
Rose tilts her head to one side, confused. “You had an idea for a vacation?”
“Not so much a ‘vacation’, as just an afternoon off.”
Max nods. “You certainly deserve it, sir.”
Xenos grins. “Yeah? Like you did, Max?”
“Huh?”
Hugh chuckles. “I remember that. You took an afternoon off while the rest of us went over paperwork.”
Max snaps his fingers. “Ah! The day Shelly was feeling poorly.”
He turns to Arc.
“I went over there to take care of her while Lily ran the restaurant.”
“Alone?”
“No, sir. I brought Sereb with me.”
Sereb nods. “Indeed.”
“I see. Good idea. And thank you for taking such good care of Shelly and Lily. That goes for all of you.”
Arc turns and looks toward the ivory walls again.
“Well then… if we have what we came for, we should probably head back home.”
The group nods and turns to leave. Ember approaches Arc and whispers in his ear.
“This might be a good time to talk to Max about… you know…”
Arc nods. “Yeah.”
He clears his throat.
“Max?”
“Yes sir?”
“Can you hang back a minute?”
“Yes, sir.”
Arc looks to the others.
“We’ll catch up in a bit.”
Ember turns to him. “Don’t take too long. We still have quite a drive ahead of us.”
Arc nods as the others return to the tree line before turning to Max.
“Something I can do, sir?”
“Kinda. I, uh… just wanted to talk to you about Shelly. I RERALLY appreciate you and the others looking after them when I’m in Equestria.”
“It’s no problem, sir. After all, they’re very nice young mares.”
“Women, Max.”
“Yes sir. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. But tell me, how do you feel about them?”
“Um… I do enjoy Shelly’s company. Lily’s as well, of course. But I don’t see as much of her, as she’s usually working the restaurant.”
“Do you and the others still go over there to help sometimes?”
“Yes sir. But to be honest with you, I’m usually upstairs either taking care of Shelly or, on better days, keeping her company at the register or in their Living Room.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“She and I really seem to get along. Sereb can attest to that. But was there something in particular you wanted to know?”
“Not… really. It’s just… I… um…”
Arc sighs.
“I’m a bit… worried, that’s all.”
“Worried, sir?”
“You and the others have become quite attached to this town, haven’t you?”
Max grins. “That we have, sir. Truth be told it kinda reminds us of Ponyville.”
“Angel Grove does have that small town feel to it. Close knit community… that sort of thing. Does that mean you four are happy here?”
“Very! To tell you the truth, things really are a lot easier for us here on Earth.”
“The discrimination?”
Max nods. “Yes sir. As we told you in the past, our kind aren’t exactly thought highly of back in Equestria. Here in Angel Grove though nopo… no one gives us a second glance though.”
He shifts uneasily.
“Might I speak freely, sir?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“The guys and I have been talking a lot recently about how much we love it here. Would it be possible for us to… maybe come back and visit?”
“You mean after we find Princess Celestia?”
“Yes sir. I understand that once we do so we won’t have any reason to stay. While I’m sure you’ll come back here regularly to visit your friends, we’d like to be allowed to accompany you occasionally.”
Arc sighs. “I… I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Max.”
“Sir?”
“That’s part of the reason I wanted to talk to you. You see… you guys, along with Ember, look just like any other human on the outside. But on the inside, you’re still ponies. Or in Ember’s case, a dragon.”
“We all feel the same though.”
“I’m sure you do. And admittedly there aren’t many differences between humans and ponies in terms of what you’re capable of. But when it comes right down to it, you guys aren’t humans. You’re still ponies.”
“Yes sir. We all accept that fact, and respect who and what we are. But we all feel that there’s a place in this world for us. Just like there’s now a place in Equestria for you.”
“Agreed. As for your request, I… I think I’m going to have to give it some more thought.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m sorry if I steered our conversation a bit off topic. Was there something else you wanted to speak about?”
“Yes. It’s in regards to Shelly and Lily.”
“Oh? Is something wrong?”
“Not… necessarily. More like what the future holds for them.”
Max grins. “I’m sure Shelly’s Kitchen will be there for years to come. It’s very popular now that the Shards aren’t terrorizing the population.”
Arc shakes his head. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Sir?”
“I was referring to Shelly and Lily personally. You’ve become somewhat… attached to Shelly, haven’t you?”
Max nods nervously. “Perhaps a bit, sir.”
They are silent for a time.
“Sir, may I speak freely again?”
“Go ahead.”
“Shelly really is special to you. A blind human could see that. Not to say that you don’t care for Lily, but… um…”
Arc nods. “Shelly requires special attention and care. Is that what you meant to say?”
“Yes sir. She’s just such a fragile human. I’ve had to carry her to her room several times over these past few months, and I have to say I thought she’d weigh more.”
Arc sighs. “That’s one of her illnesses actually.”
“I know you said she’s sick. But I’m really worried about her well-being.”
“So am I. That’s why I asked you guys to help them out. Now all I’m saying is try not to form any deep attachments to them or anyone else here, okay?”
“I just… yes sir.”
Arc puts a hand on Max’s shoulder. “Thanks. I just don’t want to see Shelly’s heart broken when we leave. Or anyone else’s due to her shortened life span.”
“Neither do I, sir.”
“Good. Now let’s catch up with the others.”
They turn and walk back toward the tree line. Sometime later Arc and company return home. The sun is setting and a warm breeze blows through the trees as they step out of the Jeep. Ember stretches.
“That was a ride and a half!”
“Sorry my vehicle doesn’t have more seats.”
Rose shrugs. “I didn’t mind sitting in the back hatch with Sereb.”
Viktor blushes. “It was certainly an experience.”
Xenos smirks. “Well, Ember had to sit on SOMEONE’S lap.”
Max chuckles. “That she did.”
Ember grins. “You’re welcome for the honor of your life, Viktor.”
Hugh snickers. “Congratulations. Now you can tell everyone back home you’ve had the Dragon Lord in your lap.”
They all laugh as Viktor looks away nervously and blushes happily. Entering the house they hear the phone ringing. Arc heads for the Living Room as the others go downstairs.
“I’ll get it and join you all in a bit.”
Rose nods. “Don’t be too long. I’m going to bring up the footage I took on the computer.”
“Okay. But don’t wait for me.”
Heading to the phone Arc picks up the receiver and puts it to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Arc! At last!”
“Lily? Is something wrong?!”
“No, no! But I’ve been trying to get ahold of you or your friends all day!”
“Oh. Sorry about that. We… took a bit of a day trip out into the surrounding countryside to see the sights.”
“Really? Where?”
“Quite a ways outside of town. We found a really cool secluded beach overlooking the water.”
Lily giggles. “Sounds like you guys were really out in the middle of nowhere.”
Arc grins. “I’ll have to take you and Shelly out for some fresh air one of these days. It’s been awhile since either of you had a day off.”
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, Shelly’s been cooped up in our apartment for a long time now.”
“Other than trips to the doctor and pharmacy, you mean?”
“Right. She needs to go out and do something fun.”
“You have an idea?”
Lily continues nervously. “Um… kinda. You see… she’s been… uh… very talkative about doing something… special lately.”
“If I can help, you know I will.”
“Well… you see…”
A short time later Arc hangs up the phone. He walks over to the couch and sits down heavily. Cherry calls out to him.
“That was surprising.”
“I’ll say.”
“Um… aren’t you going downstairs?”
“Maybe in a bit. Right now I need to think.”
Cherry sounds confused. “What about?”
Arc sighs. “For starters, what to do about this.”
“I don’t understand. You told Lily you’d help if you could.”
“Yeah, I know. But it’s just…”
Arc groans.
“This request is just so… so out of the blue.”
“I know. But it isn’t unreasonable. At least I don’t think it is.”
“No, it’s certainly not.”
“Then why…”
Arc interrupts her. “So what would you have me do?!”
“I think you already know the answer to that, Arc. You just have to follow through.”
Arc sighs. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry for blowing up, Cherry.”
“That’s okay. I know this isn’t easy for you.”
“It really isn’t. But putting it off isn’t going to make things any easier.”
Standing, Arc walks down the basement stairs. The others are huddled around Viktor’s computer looking over still shots.
Xenos grimaces. “That place is a real fortress!”
Hugh nods soberly. “It’s going to be a real hard nut to crack.”
Max nods with determination. “Agreed. But we have to!”
Viktor looks over his screen. “Every defense has flaws.”
Rose nods in affirmation. “Right. We just have to find them.”
Ember clenches a fist. “Yeah! And apply a proper dose of brute force!”
Arc sighs. “Let’s keep violence out of the equation for the time being. After all, this is our country’s military we’re talking about.”
Viktor turns to him. “Yes sir. But admittedly that might not be an option.”
Max nods. “Well, if push comes to shove we’ll do what we have to in order to get in.”
Sereb frowns. “It isn’t so much the getting in part that has me worried.”
Ember grits her teeth. “Right. I imagine getting out and away without getting caught will be the hardest part of the mission.”
Rose turns to Arc. “To say nothing for staying undetected once inside.”
“There’s that too.”
Arc frowns and sighs.
“Everyone, keep going over the footage. Max, um… can I talk to you privately about something?”
“Yes sir.”
Max strands. He and Arc head up the stairs as everyone else looks to one another. Viktor turns to Hugh.
“That was sudden.”
“You don’t suppose he’s in trouble?”
Xenos shakes his head. “Nah. Max and the commander do have a rather… interesting relationship though.”
Rose tilts her head to one side, confused. “Interesting?”
Ember nods. “He means Arc puts a lot of faith in him.”
Sereb sits down in front of the screen in Max’s chair. “That he does. But it is certainly warranted.”
Viktor grins. “Agreed. Max is the one the commander leaves in charge while he’s gone, after all.”
Hugh sighs. “It’s still so mysterious though. Do you have any idea what’s going on, Sereb?”
“I do. However Arc will explain everything in due time, I’m sure. Do not worry, as your friend is not in trouble.”
Meanwhile, Arc and Max head for his parent’s bedroom. Entering, he shuts the door and motions to a nearby chair.
“Have a seat, Max.”
“Yes sir.”
As he complies Arc takes a seat across from him on the end of the bed.
“Did I do something wrong, sir?”
“No, Max. I just… wanted to ask you for a bit of a favor.”
“I’ll do my very best to do carry out your orders.”
Arc shakes his head. “What I’m going to ask of you isn’t an order, Max. Like I said, this is a favor. And a rather personal one at that.”
Max appears confused. “I don’t understand, sir. If you need something done I’m more than willing to…”
Arc holds up a hand for silence as he sighs. “Sorry, Max. It’s just… kinda hard of me to ask this of you, or anyone for that matter.”
He takes a deep breath before continuing.
“Now then… what I’m going to ask you to do is strictly on a voluntary basis. Just to be completely clear, I don’t want you to feel as if you have to accept this request just because I’m your commanding officer.”
“I… yes sir.”
“That telephone call earlier was from Lily.”
“Is everything alright?”
“Yes. More so than usual even. Lily told me that Shelly’s having an extremely good day today as far as her conditions go.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yes, I agree. In any case… this morning she got the idea that she wanted to go out tonight.”
“So you’d like me to run some errands in preparation for…”
Arc interrupts. “She asked if you would take her out.”
Max’s eyes grow wide. “M-me, sir?!”
“That’s what Lily said, yes.”
“I… it’s just… this is so sudden!”
“That much I understand. If you feel uncomfortable and don’t want to do this I completely understand.”
Max jumps up. “No, no! I’d be honored to!”
“Okay. I’ll give Lily a call and tell her you’ll be there in a couple hours. Shelly was taking a nap when we talked earlier anyways.”
As Arc turns to leave the room Max calls after him.
“Sir?!”
Arc looks over. “Yes?”
“Um… are you okay with this?”
“Truthfully… no.”
Max nods soberly. “I kinda thought you’d say that.”
“Like I told you back on the beach, I just don’t want Shelly’s heart broken when you and the others leave. It has nothing to do with you personally. In all honesty, I’d be very happy seeing you and her together. But… if our upcoming mission goes badly, we might not be walking away from this.”
“Yes sir. If you’re found out, it might not be an option for you yourself to come back.”
Arc sighs. “Yeah. That’s why I’m planning on saying goodbye to both of them before then.”
“I… what?!”
“It’s for the best. My cover story will be that I’m moving to be closer to Derpy and Dinky. Or Daisy and Dawn as they know them. Then if something happens, and I don’t return, at least they won’t think anything of my disappearance.”
“But sir! Don’t they deserve to know the truth?!”
Arc sighs as he turns away. “Yes, Max. But… the truth is not always a pleasant thing to know.”