Arc and company step out of a portal in his basement. Hammer looks around as her eyes adjust to the light.
“Where… are we?”
“My base of operations.”
Hammer grins. “Your bat cave?”
Scootaloo raises an eyebrow. “His what now?”
“Human reference. Now then, I think some introductions are in order.”
Hammer looks around nervously. “Is… everyone here… human?”
Arc shakes his head. “No. You and I are the only real humans here, Hammer.”
He turns to Scootaloo and pulls off her cloak.
“This is Scootaloo.”
The little girls smiles nervously. “Or ‘Scarlet’ here on Earth.”
Walking over to Derpy, he pulls her helmet off to reveal her face.
“While I know you two have already met, this is Dawn. She’s the good friend from the faraway land I mentioned in my letter to you.”
“Wait! Daisy’s mom?!”
Derpy nods. “That I am.”
“So you’re a warrior too?!”
“It’s… complicated.”
Arc gestures to Sereb. “My loyal steed.”
“Greetings.”
Hammer gasps again. “He talks?!”
Sereb nods. “Yes.”
“And this is my armor, Eidolon’s Ward.”
It waves as Hammer eyes it suspiciously.
“So… who’s in there?”
“No one.”
Hammer appears confused. “Uh… someone HAS to be moving it.”
“Let me show you.”
Stepping forward, the armor melts away to reveal its inner parts are indeed empty. Arc steps inside and it closes up again. Turning to Hammer he removes the helmet and looks to her.
“As to how it moves on its own, well… do you remember my letter?”
“Which part?”
Arc sighs. “When I talked about my fiancée.”
“Yeah. What about her?”
“Her soul is inside my armor.”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“Say hello, Cherry.”
“Good evening, Hammer.”
“WOAH!”
Arc chuckles. “It’s a bit disconcerting, I know.”
“What about when you’re not wearing the armor?”
“Then she resides in my head.”
Cherry giggles. “It’s cozy in there.”
The sound of small footsteps running down the stairs rings out. Dinky hurries over to her father happily.
“Dad! You’re back!”
Kneeling down, he embraces the little girl.
“I missed you sweetheart.”
“Me too, dad.”
Looking over at the newcomer, she smiles.
“You brought Miss Hammer with you this time!”
“Yeah. Things… didn’t exactly go the way I wanted them to tonight.”
“Everything okay?”
Hammer gives her a thumbs up. “That they are, Daisy.”
She turns back to Arc and looks him in the eye.
“I need to know some things though.”
“Yes, I suppose you do.”
“What is the truth and what was a lie?”
“Well for starters, like I said… you and I are the only humans here. Cherry is, or more accurately was, an Earth Pony. Dawn is a Pegasus named Derpy. And Daisy along with Scootaloo are very young fillies named Dinky and Scootaloo respectively.”
Scootaloo nods. “I’m a pegasus and Dinky’s a unicorn.”
“Um… what?”
Arc turns to her. “They’re just in these forms to fit in.”
Hammer sighs. “If anyone else had told me that I wouldn’t have even considered it.”
Sereb frowns. “I sense that you do not believe Arc, Hammer.”
“It’s a hard story to swallow, yes.”
Derpy turns to Arc. “Maybe we should show her.”
Dinky puts up a hand excitedly. “Oh! I volunteer!”
Arc nods. “Sure. Sereb?
His knub aglow, Sereb casts the counter spell. In a flash Dinky returns to her true form. Stepping out of her now oversized jammies, she looks at Hammer and smiles.
“See?! I’m a Unicorn!”
Hammer grins and gasps. “And you’re just so CUTE!!!”
Rushing over to the filly, Hammer picks her up and holds her close.
“And so soft!”
“Thanks!”
Holding the filly up, Hammer spins in place happily as the pair laugh excitedly. Eventually she sets Dinky down and turns back to Arc.
“I didn’t think it was possible for her to be any cuter, Arc.”
“Agreed. But let’s get her back to human form.”
Pulling a cloak out of his ring, Arc wraps Dinky up in it as he turns to Sereb.
“Ready.”
His horn aglow, Sereb casts the spell. In but a moment Dinky is again a human girl. Derpy picks up the little girl’s clothes and leads her toward the bathroom.
“Come along, Dinky.”
“Okay, mom.”
“Hey, where are they going?”
Cherry calls out. “To get dressed. Dinky’s bare under that robe, after all.”
Arc nods. “Right. We have a system around here for things like that.”
Hammer scratches her head. “How about that faraway country you say you’re working for, Arc? Are they from there?”
“Yes. It’s very far away though.”
“Your letter said it was beyond the stars. Was that true?”
Cherry giggles. “Very. Arc comes here along with us via a very special portal.”
Arc grins. “It’s a land called ‘Equestria’.”
“Can I see it?”
Sereb shakes his head. “Sadly, no.”
Arc sighs. “I’m… kinda stuck here for the moment.”
Derpy and Dinky emerge from the basement bathroom and rejoin the others.
“But we’re having fun!”
Derpy smiles. “That we are. Before Arc was too busy to see Dinky or I very much.”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “Busy with what? Coming to Earth?”
“My duties as the Hero of Light.”
Sereb nods. “It’s his title back home.”
“What do you do?”
“Whatever I feel needs doing.”
“I don’t get it.”
Cherry calls out. “The Hero of Light is officially above the law. They can do whatever they want in order to protect the innocent.”
Arc yawns. “Pretty much. Now then, there’s a lot more to tell you, Hammer. But it’s getting late and I’m really tired.”
“I’ll take her upstairs to my room, Big Brother.”
Dinky gasps. “Then where will you sleep?”
“With Big Brother.”
“I guess you could.”
Hammer clears her throat. “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll just crash down here with your employees, Arc. Uh… where are they?”
“Back in Equestria.”
Dinky smiles. “You’ll have the whole basement to yourself.”
Sereb frowns. “Not completely. I too will sleep here.”
“Suit yourself. Uh… could I trouble you for a shower, Arc?”
Arc points. “There’s a bathroom right over there.”
Dinky grins. “I’ll get her some night clothes!”
Derpy looks to him. “Arc, we should probably get a shower too. It was kind of a dirty night.”
“Just a quick one. I’m pooped.”
Heading upstairs with Derpy and Dinky, Arc looks back towards the now closed basement door. Sighing, he muses to himself.
“Did I make the right choice?”
“Dad?”
“Bringing Hammer home with me.”
Derpy pats his shoulder. “You didn’t have much of a choice.”
“But now she knows where we live.”
Dinky shrugs. “So what?”
“If she betrays us we’ll lose this fallback position.”
Derpy smiles. “I don’t think she will. After all, she just betrayed her sisters to follow you, Arc.”
Dinky giggles. “Yeah. If anything she’s the one with nowhere left to go.”
Derpy nods to the door. “And Sereb will watch her like a hawk tonight.”
“I suppose you two are right.”
“Hop in the shower and wash away your troubles, dad.”
“Yes. I’ll take Dinky back to bed.”
“Okay. Good night you two.”
They part ways at the bathroom. Arc enters and steps into the shower.
“That mostly went to plan.”
Cherry calls out. “How did you know Mio would betray you tonight though?”
“Her asking to choose the place tipped me off. That and there wasn’t much reason for her to keep helping me anyways, as I’d given her what she wanted.”
“Oh?”
“Mio was only concerned with having her old sister back. After Hammer recovered mentally my services were no longer necessary.”
“But will she be okay when you tell her the rest of the story?”
“About my potential herd back home?”
“Yes.”
Arc sighs. “I… I don’t know. But like Wiseman said when I was stringing Hammer along, the truth will set me free.”
“So you’re going to be honest with her?”
“Completely. More lies now would only make things worse for both of us.”
Toweling off, Arc puts on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before leaving the bathroom. Walking down the hall, he comes to his parent’s room. Closing the door and flopping down on the bed, Arc stares up at the ceiling for a time to watch the shadows of tree branches moving in the wind. An hour passes before Cherry speaks.
“You really need to calm your mind, Arc.”
“I know. But right now I just can’t help but wonder how Hammer will take the news.”
“Being well rested will help you concentrate on what to say.”
“Yes, however…”
There is a small knock at the door. Arc sits up.
“Come in.”
As the door opens, Sereb sticks his head inside and looks toward the bed.
“Sorry for waking you, Arc.”
“I wasn’t asleep yet. What’s up?”
“Hammer would like to speak with you. Is that acceptable?”
“Sure. Send her in.”
“Certainly.”
Stepping back, Sereb allows the young woman to enter first as he follows closely and looks to Arc.
“Shall I remain?”
“No thanks. I’ll be fine.”
“Very well. But I shall be in the hallway.”
“Fine.”
Sereb turns and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. Hammer nervously fidgets as she looks at the floor. Arc walks over to her and motions to a chair.
“Have a seat.”
“Th-thanks.”
Sitting, Hammer looks down at her lap as Arc takes his place at the end of the bed.
“So… what’s on your mind?”
“I… just… really need to know something.”
“Anything.”
“There’s no good way to ask this, but… how is your relationship with… your armor?”
“You mean Cherry?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m still very fond of her.”
Cherry giggles. “Yes. And I rather enjoy…”
Hammer jumps up, nervously. “She’s still in your head?!”
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
Cherry calls out sheepishly. “Should I leave you two alone?”
Hammer gasps. “You’d… you’d do that?”
“If Arc wants me to, yes.”
“No, wait!”
Cherry sounds confused at Hammer’s outburst. “I thought you wanted…?”
“The truth of the matter is… I should ask you this. Are you still in love with him?”
“Yes.”
Hammer sighs dejectedly.
“Fine. I won’t try to…”
“But I’ve let the notion of us spending a lifetime together go.”
“Huh?”
Arc nods. “Cherry told me to see others. Find someone else to marry quite a while back.”
Hammer looks to him sheepishly. “Anyone in particular?”
“Actually, yes.”
“You mean… you already have someone?”
Arc sighs. “I… I do. Sorry.”
Hammer nods sadly. “Man… don’t nothing turn out right for me.”
“Hammer, I… I was planning to tell you this tomorrow, but… I think I need to do it now.”
“Okay. Just promise me something first.”
“What is it?”
“That you’ll be honest about it. No matter what it is.”
“Sure. I promise.”
He takes a deep breath before continuing.
“After the death of Cherry I was really depressed for quite some time. While I tried my best to hide it after the funeral I was constantly rocked by guilt for not being able to save her. To cope with the pain I threw myself into my work so as not to think about her or love again.”
Cherry continues where he left off. “Fortunately I was contained in the gem in the center of the Hero’s… I mean, Arc’s armor. Thanks to that I was able to stay with him.”
Hammer frowns. “Your work in the other world, Arc?”
“Yes.”
“The land of… horses?”
“Ponies.”
“Right. So she’s a… what now?”
“I am… was, an Earth Pony.”
Hammer appears suddenly nervous. “You were going to marry a… pony?”
Arc nods. “Cherry was very lovely to look at, and had a heart of gold.”
Reaching into his ring Arc pulls out the pocket watch and opens it. Walking over to Hammer he allows her to look at Cherry’s picture.
“She gave me this as an engagement present. While I know it sounds strange to you, I was looking forward to spending my life with her.”
Hammer looks at the picture. “She’s… really pretty, and all. More so than I thought a pony could be. But you found someone else in that land?”
“I did. Or more accurately, she found me. There were a handful of friends I made back there. While I always viewed most of them as just platonic companions, eventually one of them stuck out.”
“What’s her name?”
“Rarity.”
Cherry giggles. “She owns a clothing shop in a small town called Ponyville.”
“Horses… ponies wear clothing?”
Arc shrugs. “It’s not a regular occurrence over there, but yes.”
“And she’s… special to you?”
“Very. To tell you the truth, she was the first mare who turned my head after Cherry’s death.”
“Tell me about her.”
“Well… she’s a clothing designer. Very conscientious about her looks for that reason. Extremely generous. And she has a young daughter named Sweetie Belle.”
“No mate, er… husband?”
Arc shakes his head. “She’s a single mother. Dinky and her daughter are friends. They go to school together.”
“Ponies have schools?”
“They have most of the basics we have here, yes. But we’re getting a bit off topic.”
Hammer sighs. “Sorry. Continue.”
“Well, after a rather… eventful date, we confessed our feelings for one another. One thing led to another and we ended up spending the night together.”
Hammer blushes heavily. “With a… um… pony?”
“I didn’t have sex with her. We went right to sleep holding each other.”
“Oh… good. I think. Not really sure of anything at this point.”
“In any case, she and the rest of her friends had their eye on me. All of them are especially close, after all. For a bit there I was worried our relationship would come between their friendships.”
“Sounds like it was kinda messy. How’d they figure it out?”
“A long talk over tea.”
“And the decision?”
“They proposed the idea of forming what’s called a ‘herd’.”
Cherry calls out. “It’s exactly what it sounds like.”
“Is that… allowed?”
“I’m told marriage is allowed only between two over there. Kinda like here. But as the Hero of Light I’m above the law. So theoretically I could do that.”
“How many mares were in this group?”
“Seven in total.”
Cherry giggles. “You’re forgetting somepony, Arc.”
“Seven mares and one female demon.”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “A demon? Like… a literal one?”
“Yes. But she’s really friendly. You’d like her.”
Cherry sighs. “Indeed. She’s half human though.”
“Right. That and you’ve already met her.”
Hammer gasps. “I have?!”
Arc nods. “Yup. Remember my secretary?”
“Auriel?!”
“Right.”
“But she was so beautiful!”
Cherry calls out. “She was in her human form, of course. But her true self is very pretty as well.”
“That’s right. Auriel’s really into science as well. She even volunteered to have my children if I wanted.”
Hammer chuckles. “Sounds like you’re quite the busy guy, Arc.”
“Sorry for all of this.”
Hammer sighs. “I am too.”
Arc looks to her sadly. “Are you mad?”
“More hurt than anything else. Why did you go out with me when you already had so many fiancées?!”
“While I’m ashamed to admit it, I needed access and information to Damocles Base.”
Hammer grits her teeth. “So you were using me?!”
Arc looks away. “Yes, Hammer. I’m sorry to say that, but it’s the truth.”
“Tell me. What was so important that you needed to infiltrate the base like you did with your guys?”
“General Mustang was holding one of the land’s princesses captive. We broke in there to save her as well as liberate the Shards.”
“You mentioned that to Stingray and Mio earlier. How much of what you said back there was true?”
“All of it. “
Hammer bows her head. “So my sisters and I… we helped Colonel Diva KIDNAP those guys?!”
“You did.”
“What was she going to do with them?”
“I’m not fully sure what their endgame was. But they were most likely test subjects for magical experiments.”
Hammer gasps. “Ascension?”
“Yeah.”
“So they can use magic?!”
“Right.”
“How many of them?!”
“According to Frank… all.”
Hammer clenches a fist. “We were told it was something reserved for only the brightest and best! Not a bunch of thugs taken off the street!”
Arc frowns. “General Mustang must’ve wanted to expand his magical soldiers.”
“I just… don’t know what to believe anymore! The general knew… Stingray knew… and you knew! Everyone’s been lying to me for such a long time… and I didn’t even know it!”
“I’m really sorry, Hammer. What I did was wrong and I wouldn’t blame you a bit if you wanted to punch me in the mouth for what I did.”
Hammer sighs and shakes her head. “Yeah, well… I kinda do. But at the same time you’re the only one who’s come clean about anything. Even my own sisters didn’t say anything until forced to do so.”
“Nothing makes up for that, I know. But I do appreciate what you did this evening.”
“Taking your side over Stingray and Mio?”
“Yeah. It was really brave and loyal of you.”
Hammer frowns. “I can’t be a part of that anymore. Hopefully, with time, they’ll come around as well.”
“What will you do now though?”
“If you’ll let me, I’d like to help you with whatever needs doing, Arc. After all, there isn’t much for me to do now. That and I need to start making up for what I did to you as the Hero of Light.”
“Considering what I did to YOU, I’m not holding anything against you, Hammer.”
“I still want to stay though. Can I?”
“Sure.”
“Can I ask you one more question, Arc?”
“What is it?”
“About your relationships with Rarity and her friends. Are there… I mean… would it maybe be possible for me to… join the herd?”
“I… don’t know, Hammer. After all, we don’t really know each other too well. That and I’ve been lying to you ever since we met. Why would you want to stick around?”
“Because unlike Stingray and the general, I believe that you’re genuinely sorry for what you did to me. And I find that really… REALLY hot.”
“Yes, well… I don’t understand how.”
“So do you think I might join your herd someday?”
“As of now, I haven’t even fully committed to the idea.”
Cherry calls out. “Right. Arc only promised Rarity and her friends that he would think about it.”
“That and I don’t know how they would feel about letting others in.”
“Is it because I’m not a pony?”
Arc shakes his head. “No, Hammer. But it’s just too soon to be making plans like that. Why don’t you stick around and see how this stuff works. Then all of us can make informed decisions about the future.”
Hammer nods. “That sounds fair. Well, more than I deserve considering how many times I’ve attacked you.”
“You went after the Hero of Light. Not me, Hammer.”
“Same thing!”
“In any case, why don’t we get to bed? I’m exhausted, and I can’t imagine you’re any more rested.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But do you think you could do one thing for me?”
“Oh?”
“The last time we met, I… wanted to spend the night with you. Since Rarity sounds like she’s okay with multiple partners, do you think I could… fall asleep in your arms.”
She looks him over nervously before continuing.
“That is, if it’s okay with you, Cherry.”
Cherry calls out. “Arc’s free to do what he wants with whomever he desires.”
Arc blushes slightly. “Um… thanks.”
“Would you two like some privacy?”
Hammer nods and blushes as well. “Kinda, yeah.”
“Can I borrow your armor, Arc?”
“Sure.”
Standing, Arc calls forth Eidolon’s Ward. As the front melts away he steps out. Hammer grins.
“That’s a neat trick.”
“Yes, well… we’re just going to sleep.”
“I understand.”
Eidolon’s Ward heads for the door. “Well, just in case you two decide to do more, I’ll leave you alone.”
She leaves the bedroom. Closing the door behind her Sereb raises his head.
“I don’t like this.”
Eidolon’s Ward turns to him. “Then head on in there.”
“Not a chance.”
“Either accept it or do something, Sereb.”
“I will… abstain. But will remain on guard out here.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
Sereb cocks his head to one side. “You don’t trust her?”
“Not really, no. She seems like a very sweet human woman, of course. But I still remember all the trouble she gave us in the past.”
“Then why are you out here?”
“Because while I may not trust Hammer, I do trust Arc’s judgment.”