//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Plots and Pies // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Arc and company walk up the basement stairs together. Dinky runs into the kitchen to greet them. “DAD! Is everyone okay?!” Arc nods as he tousles her hair. “Yes sweetheart. Everyone’s fine.” Derpy giggles. “We all stayed safe by watching each other’s backs.” Scootaloo grins. And by having fun! Sereb sighs as he puts a paw over his face. “I am not sure the ‘fun’ part was necessary.” Cherry calls out. “Probably not.” Hammer grins as she puts her gun over her shoulder. “Maybe so. But it sure made for a great evening!” Arc looks at the clock and takes Dinky’s hand. “Come with me.” “Dad?” Hammer laughs. “We gotta show you something!” Leading the group over to the couch, Arc steps out of his armor and sits down with Dinky. The others pile onto the sofa with him as he grabs the remote with his magic and presses the ‘power’ button. “Kinda late to be watching television isn’t it, dad?” Derpy sits down with them. “This time we’ll make an exception, sweetie.” Switching stations, they wait a few minutes for the eleven o’clock news. In time the anchor comes on the screen. “Good evening, Angel Grove. Tonight’s top story… trouble at the local zoo. Our own Minerva Moore comes to us live from the scene.” The screen splits as Minerva’s face appears. “That’s right, Tom. The police received an anonymous tip a short time ago that a strange looking man was seen breaking into the grounds here.” “For what purpose?” “From what we can tell… to be with his own kind.” “Minerva?” “Take a look for yourself, Tom.” Dave turns the camera and films a rather punchy looking Bloodletter lying in the center of the wolf exhibit. “What IS that?!” “It appears to be the creature from a story I did some time back on the Hero of Light against The Rider’s leader.” Tom gasps. “That’s HIM?!” “I would say so, Tom. After all, no one but him could pull off that look.” “Do the authorities have any plans for his immediate future?” “Police have notified Animal Control. They’re on their way over as we speak to take this creature into custody.” " Isn’t that a bit… unorthodox. After all, he is still a man under all that hair." “Yes he is, Tom. However Marshal Raynor made the judgement call to bring them in, as he doesn’t have the facilities to house him. The police will stay with him until further notice pending official word from a judge tomorrow morning.” “A judge?” “This being a rather unique case, the police tell me they’ll require judicial guidance on how to legally proceed.” “And if he turns back?” “Then he’ll be immediately arrested and transferred to our local jail.” The camera pans over to several Animal Control agents tranquilizing Bloodletter and the surrounding wolves. Carefully entering the exhibit, they cautiously load the beast into a large cage. Lowering the hook from a small crane they hitch up the cage and hoist it up and onto a nearby truck. Tom nods approvingly. “Looks like a simple capture.” “Yes, Tom. We were worried someone could be hurt. But the creature appears to be a bit out of it.” “Maybe from a night on the town?” “Your guess is as good as mine, Tom. This has been Minerva Moore reporting live from the Angel Grove Zoo.” “Thank you, Minerva.” Minerva nods as the anchorman looks back at the camera before proceeding. “We’ll keep you updated on this story as it unfolds.” Arc raises the remote and turns off the television. Dinky grins at him. “You and the others must’ve really gone hard on him. That guy looked pretty out of it.” Sereb grins toothily. “We acted with the appropriate amount of force necessary to subdue the creature known as Bloodletter.” Hammer shrugs. “It was more than he deserved, but yes.” “How’d you do it?!” Derpy smiles. “Well… as soon as Arc learned that the man wasn’t actually in cohorts with Hammer’s sisters he called us in to help.” Scootaloo grins. “Right! We intimidated his gang before moving on to him!” Hammer shudders. “Still not sure what exactly you did to him though, Arc.” “Something Scootaloo showed me some time ago. Crimson Manipulation.” Dinky appears confused. “I don’t get it.” Scootaloo steps forward. “You remember when your dad and I were explaining how we tricked two stallions into betraying their gang in Dodge Junction, right?” Arc chuckles. “And the nurse at the Vanhoover Hospital too.” “Yeah. What about it?” Scootaloo grins. “We can make those with weak minds do or think whatever we want!” Arc nods. “While not exactly easy, Scootaloo and I were able to dominate him and rearrange a few things in his head.” Dinky frowns. “I don’t like the sound of that.” Derpy puts a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “It had to be done, sweetie. That and it was my idea.” “Mom?” “It just kinda came to me when we were discussing what to do. After all, we couldn’t just leave him there like that. He’d just go on to hurt others.” Hammer grins. “So Arc and Scootaloo here used their Crimson magical mumbo jumbo to convince him that he and I never met.” Sereb nods. “So any memory that involves Hammer is disassociated.” “Including my diary!” Dinky gasps. “But he can still transform though!” Arc shakes his head. “Not really, no. I decided to implant a small psychological… trigger. ” Derpy turns to Dinky. “Arc convinced him that he’s deathly afraid of the moon.” Arc nods. “Just like Fluttershy, he’ll now collapse in fear if he comes into a situation where he’s exposed to the moon again.” Scootaloo giggles. “And with that your mom and I flew him to the zoo and tossed him with the wolves.” Hammer laughs. “While they got back from their little errand I called the police and tipped them off!” Sereb chuckles. “The result is what you saw on the news.” Derpy nods. “And with that we deemed the mission a complete success.” Sereb looks to Arc. “It went as smoothly as any operation I’ve been involved in.” “That’s good. Because there may well be more of them to come.” Cherry calls out. “What do you mean, Arc?” Dinky frowns. “Yeah, I don’t see that guy getting away anytime soon.” “I mean back in Equestria. Rarity contacted me earlier this morning to say that Decimus is still looking for me.” Sereb growls. “You would think he would have given up by now.” Dinky grits her teeth. “He knows that my dad can still stop him!” “I could if I knew what he was up to.” Hammer brandishes her weapon. “Should we shoot him?” Derpy sighs. “Probably not the best idea, no.” Arc groans. “Right. Like I told you before, Decimus is a slippery one. If we take him on without proof and a plan we’ll be in the wrong.” Scootaloo grins. “So what now?” Dinky yawns. “How about we head to bed? I’m worn out just listening to this story.” Derpy stands. “Good idea. Come along, Dinky. You too, Scootaloo.” They stand and follow Derpy up the stairs. Hammer turns to Arc. “Why don’t we follow their lead and get some sleep?” Arc nods and stands. “Sounds like a plan.” Hammer grins as she puts her arms around his shoulders. “Or… we could celebrate this victory with something a bit more… exotic.” Arc rolls his eyes. “No thanks.” Hammer shrugs as she heads for the basement door. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.” Sereb hops off the couch and falls into step behind Hammer. She looks back at him. “You going to watch me sleep, or something?” “More or less.” Hammer scoffs. “Whatever.” Arc heads upstairs and flops down on his parent’s bed. Crawling under the covers he sighs contentedly as Cherry calls out to him. “Tonight went very well.” “The best.” “Can I ask you something, Arc?” “What is it?” “Did you mean what you said back there? About needing to work together to stop Decimus?” Arc nods. “Yes. But in all honesty, I hope that I’m wrong.” “Wrong?” “About having to stop him ourselves. With luck, Twilight will be able to make Princess Celestia see reason and we can go home.” “At least you have another ally in that fight now.” “Hammer?” “She’d follow you back to Equestria even if you didn’t want her to come.” “You’re probably right.” “That and she’s pretty good in a fight too. Scootaloo as well.” “We might need both of their help.” “Let’s talk about it more another time, Arc. You’re dozing off as it is.” Arc yawns. “Yeah. Good night, Chery.” “Good night, Arc.” Drifting off to sleep, Arc is unfortunately awakened a short time later to a light knock on his door. Opening one eye he looks toward it and calls out. “Come in.” Derpy and Hammer enter the room and close the door behind them as Arc sits up. “Something wrong?” Derpy nods. “Kinda.” Hammer sighs. “Sorry to wake you, but… I just couldn’t sleep down there.” “Something tells me it’s more than just an uncomfortable mattress though.” Derpy sighs. “Right.” “It’s just… I don’t know where to begin.” Cherry giggles. “How about over a slice of pie?” Arc raises an eyebrow. “At this hour?” “In our Sanctuary, silly!” “Oh… that makes a bit more sense.” Hammer frowns. “Your what now?” Derpy sighs. “It’s kinda complicated.” Cherry calls out again. “Seeing it is easier than trying to explain it.” “Fine. What do we have to do?” Arc motions to the pillow next to him. “Just lie down with me.” Hammer grins. “I’m liking this plan!” Derpy giggles. “Me too!” Laying back, Arc puts his arms around the pair and pulls them close. Hammer looks to him happily. “What now?” “Just fall asleep. I’ll take care of the rest.” “Alright. Just one last thing.” “What is it?” Hammer presses her lips to Arc’s cheek and whispers in his ear.> “I’m so ready for this.” Derpy kisses his other cheek and smiles. “Let’s get started.” Arc chuckles. “Good night, you two.” They close their eyes and drift off to sleep. Sereb listens from the hallway and lies down outside the door. “Hopefully the three of you can come to some kind of… agreement.” Meanwhile, Hammer and Derpy awaken in some tall grass. Sitting up they look around. “Where… are we?” Derpy giggles. “Cherry Hill Ranch.” “That didn’t clear it up.” Derpy stands up and extends a hand to Hammer. “Cherry’s home.” Hammer appears confused as Derpy pulls her up. “Arc’s fiancée?” “Yes.” She looks all around before turning back to Hammer. “They must be in the house. Let’s go see.” “Lead the way.” Walking toward the farmhouse, the smell of sweet cherry pie hits their nostrils. Hammer grins. “Something sure smells good!” “That’s Cherry’s famous pie! I had it when Arc and I visited her some time back.” Entering the kitchen, they find Arc rolling out some dough. He looks up at them and grins. “You two made it.” Derpy nods happily. “Yes indeed.” “Derpy tells me this here is called Cherry Hill Ranch. Is that right?” Arc chuckles. “Yes and no. It’s not really the ranch, no. But on the other hand, it’s as real as you want it to be.” Derpy looks around. “Where’s Cherry?” “She went to the cellar to get another bag of sugar.” The sound of hooves coming up the stairs rings out. Hammer turns just in time to see Cherry step out of the hatch with a sack on her back. She gasps and takes a step back. “You… you really are a… a pony!” Cherry giggles. “That I am.” Derpy appears confused. “Was it that hard to believe?” “Kinda. Not sure how though. I mean… I say Dinky get turned into a pony and back again.” Derpy smiles. “I’m a pony too if you recall. Well… a Pegasus anyways.” Arc nods. “Right. You want to go back to that, Derpy?” “Yes. But just for a moment. I want Hammer to see what I really look like.” Arc concentrates. A moment later Derpy changes back into a pony. Hammer grins. “That’s really cool!” Derpy appears confused. “What is?” “A horse with wings!” Arc chuckles. “Well, that’s what a Pegasus is.” “Yeah. But until I saw it myself, I just couldn’t believe it. Do they really work? Your wings, I mean.” Derpy giggles as she flaps her wings and hovers. “That they do.” “Awesome! Arc, can you turn me into a Pegasus too?!” “Sure. After all, I can do anything here.” Concentrating, Arc changes Hammer into a pegasus version of herself. She grins hugely. “This is AWESOME!” Cherry raises an eyebrow. “That was surprising.” Derpy turns to Cherry. “It was?” “Usually others are a bit… off-put being changed into something they’re not used to.” Hammer trots in place. “Not me! Oh, it feels great to be like this!” Arc looks to her. “Why’s that?” “For starters, I have wings!” She flaps them a few times to get some air before landing and continuing. “Best of all, I’m naked!” Derpy frowns. “What’s ‘naked’.” Arc blushes. “It means being without clothes. Which I suppose Hammer is right now.” Hammer laughs heartily. “Never did like feeling constricted. Most days when I get home I take a shower, towel dry, and just hang out with everything hanging out!” Cherry turns to the new pegasi. “Well, would you like to help me bake some pies, Hammer?” “Sure! What would you like me to do?!” “How about roll out the crust? That should be pretty easy.” Derpy looks to Cherry. “And me?” “You can mix the filling. We’ll need a lot.” “Oh? Are we expecting company?” Cherry giggles. “No. But you forget how much Arc can eat!” Arc grins. “It’s just so good though!” “Looking forward to this now!” Arc turns to the table. “Then we’d best get to work.” Hammer puts her front hooves on the table. Looking confused and lacking balance, she places her fetlocks on the table and leans forward to pick up the rolling pin. However it slips through her hooves and onto the floor. Kneeling down to pick it up, Cherry giggles. “Fortunately my floor is clean enough to eat off of.” Hammer watches as Cherry picks the rolling pin up in her teeth and sets it on the table in front of her. “I, uh… seem to be having some trouble getting my hooves to work right.” Derpy nods. “It does take some getting used to.” Cherry smiles. “That it does.” Hammer raises an eyebrow. “How would you know? After all both of you were born ponies.” Arc turns to her. “When I took Derpy to Earth originally, she and all the others from the other country had to learn how to walk and use their fingers properly.” Derpy sighs. “It was a bit disconcerting at first. But as Arc helped me, I was able to stand on my own in no time.” Cherry looks over. “I too had trouble learning to walk as part of Arc’s armor. However with practice it all came together.” Arc puts a hand on Hammer’s head. “They were able to become humans. So I believe that you can learn to be a pony if you want to. If you’d rather not though I can change you back.” “I think I’d rather try again. After all, how often does someone have the opportunity to do something like this?” Cherry looks to Hammer. “Can I give you some pointers. From one pony to another?” “Sure.” “First off, don’t rest your fetlocks on the table. It limits your mobility.” “But if I don’t, I’ll fall over!” “Watch me.” Standing on her hind legs, Cherry balances on her back hooves as she places her front hooves on the rolling pin. Shifting her weight, she is able to push and pull the dough with her tool. Hammer gasps. “How’re you doing that?!” Cherry giggles. “It’s all about keeping your center of balance.” “You make it look so easy!” Derpy smiles. “I thought the same about walking when I first became a human.” Hammer puts her hooves on the table. “Can I try again?” “Sure.” Stepping back, Cherry allows Hammer to again take the rolling pin. Following the mare’s advice she carefully rolls the dough flat slowly but surely. “I’m doing it!” Derpy nods. “Very good!” Arc grins. “See? A little practice makes all the difference.” Cherry turns to the bowl of filling. “Now then, let’s get these pies going!” Sometime later they head to the front porch. Arc gestures to the steps. “How about we have a seat?” Derpy nods. “Sounds good.” Cherry giggles. “Indeed. The pies will take quite some time to fully cook before we can eat them.” Sitting down, Cherry takes her place on one side while Hammer sits on his other. Derpy smiles and sits on the other side of Cherry. Arc turns to Hammer. “Now then… what is it you wanted to talk to me about?” “Well… it’s about… um… my sisters.” “Stingray and Mio, huh?” “Yeah. I was lying on one of the bunks down in the basement thinking about how we were a team up until recently.” Derpy cocks her head to one side. “A team?” Cherry frowns. “You mean in battle?” “More so than that. We used to fight a lot, yeah. But at the same time we were able to do more together than anyone around us. On the battlefield and in the office.” “You three did go hoof to hoof with Arc and his squad back at Damocles Base.” Arc nods. “In addition to Rose, Auriel, and Ember I might add.” Derpy gasps. “That IS impressive!” Cherry shudders. “I thought it was going to be a massacre!” Hammer grins. “We surprised you, huh?” Arc chuckles. “That you did. In fact, until Ember joined the fight we were pretty much evenly matched.” Derpy looks to Hammer. “Do you miss them?” “Kinda, yeah. I mean… we’ve been together forever, after all.” Arc sighs. “If you went back to them, would you be in trouble?” “A bit, yes. Nothing that would earn me more than a week or so in the brig though.” Cherry groans. “Would you like to return to them?” “My sisters, yes. But not Damocles Base. General Mustang is poisoning those around him with that pheromone stuff. I can’t fight for someone who does things like that.” She looks over to Arc and smiles as she puts her hoof on his knee. “That’s why when I found out that Mio and Stingray were planning to ambush you, I knew I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.” “Even though I was blackmailing Mio?” Hammer scoffs. “Blackmailing? HAH! If anything, you were trying to get her to help ME! Something she and Stingray couldn’t do themselves. At least not alone.” Derpy frowns. “But I thought they cared about you. Why try to stop someone who only wants to help?” Hammer sighs. “Because they wanted to bring you before General Mustang. It would have certainly impressed him to no end. After all, they both want his attention. So in the end it was them who was using YOU!” Cherry frowns. “Stingray, maybe. But Mio appeared genuinely sad when you left.” “She’s always been a nice person. Not as serious or dutiful as Stingray though. I know our relationship probably looks complicated to you all. But that’s because it is.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “I don’t understand. Do you like your sisters or not?” “Both actually.” Derpy smiles. “So you want to be with them, but at the same time… don’t?” “Exactly right, but at the same time, no.” Arc looks her in the eye. “Why don’t you just tell me what you mean then?” Hammer takes a deep breath. “What I really mean is… that I’d like to be able to make my sisters see reason. Show them that the general isn’t the shining beacon of manliness they believe him to be.” Cherry’s ears droop. “But they dismissed the evidence that proved it.” Derpy sighs. “Then what could be done?” Hammer grits her teeth. “There has to be SOMETHING!” Arc shakes his head. “At this point, there may not be.” “So I should just give up on them?!” “I didn’t say that. What I mean is that there isn’t anything you could do change their minds at this point in time.” “Then what should I do?!” “For starters, keep in touch.” Derpy perks up. “Write them?” “I was thinking more along the lines of calling Stingray and Mio on the phone. Either ways work though.” Hammer puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “That might be a good way to reopen a dialogue. Writing, I mean. But what do I tell them?” Cherry grins. “How about you start with all the good times you’re having with Arc?” Derpy nods. “Right. But you might want to leave out the whole Hero of Light part.” “A letter telling them what I’m doing? But won’t that be kinda boring?” Arc shrugs. “Maybe. But if they really care about you, it’ll help them to know that you’re doing well.” Derpy looks to Hammer. “Start with breakfast and chores. From there move onto what books you’re reading along with anything interesting on television. Above all, stay busy and stay connected.” “I still think it’ll be pretty boring.” “If my sister Ruby had left with a stallion, I’d certainly want to know how she was getting along.” Arc nods. “If that goes well, you might try calling them on the phone.” Hammer appears suddenly nervous as she looks to Arc. “And you’re okay with that?” “I don’t own you, Hammer. You’re free to come and go as you please. Go to the store, out to eat, see a movie, heck you could go see your sisters and it wouldn’t bother me.” Derpy nods. “Just don’t let them know where you’re staying. We don’t want them blasting down Arc’s door.” Cherry shudders. “Right. It might not end well. For anypony, that is.” Hammer appears relieved. “Thanks for being so understanding, Arc. It’s nice to know I finally have a considerate boyfriend.” She clops her hooves together excitedly. “That’s what I’ll do!” Derpy appears confused. “Hammer?” “Write to my sisters and tell them about you, Arc! About how you’re taking such good care of me and not trying to force me to do anything I don’t want to!” “If that’s what you want, then sure.” “I’ll do it first thing in the morning! Uh… what time IS it?!” “One sec…” Closing his eyes, Arc concentrates before opening them and grinning. “It’s still the middle of the night. We’ve got plenty of time.” Cherry grins. “For talking?” “That too. Mostly for eating pie!” Derpy sighs. “But they still need to cook for some time.” Arc grins as he concentrates. “No they don’t.” Cherry sniffs the air. “Well, they do smell done.” “They are.” Hammer gasps. “How?!” “This is my Sanctuary. It’s a little pocked dimension that I’m fully in control of.” Cherry giggles. “He’s the master of his own domain.” Derpy stands. “Well, we’d better take them out before they burn then.” Cherry follows suit. “And let them cool.” Arc laughs. “I’ll take care of that too.” Hammer grins as she turns to him. “You sure do like your food, Arc!” Arc smiles at Hammer as they head for the screen door. “Once you taste this pie I think you’ll agree with the steps I’ve taken to hasten the cooking time.”