In our previous volume, Arc awakens bound and his eyes covered. Trying to move he is stopped by Sunset Shimmer and Kane. Revealing that he was captured, they tell Arc that he is being taken to Luna Bay Prison pending his trial. Arriving, he is processed and taken to the warden’s office. Finding the warden and his aide to be none other than Virtuous Lance and Spitfire, Arc makes a statement for the record of ‘not guilty’. Being taken to ‘the pit’, Arc is attacked numerous times before he finds his ‘room’. Before being able to settle in however he is visited by Fortunate Ire (yes, the pawnbroker from Volume 1). He explains the system to Arc and tells of his impending ‘baptism’, which is a fight to determine his rank in the prison.
Three burly stallions approach Arc. Defeating them each one by one earns him an ‘A’ rank amongst the prisoners. The stallions and Fortunate Ire lead him down a corridor to the King’s room. As he enters, two maids come to greet him. Not knowing what to think of him they scream and run away terrified. The King runs into the room to see the new prisoner himself. Arc immediately recognized him as Buffalo Bull from Dodge Junction. As the stallion attacks, Arc is able to effortlessly defeat him without so much as throwing a single punch. Returning to his own room he lies down and calls out to Scootaloo. Telling her where he is, Arc orders her to inform his friends of the situation. However he instructs her to tell them not to try and break him out. Wanting a court date to plead his case before Princess Celestia and the country, he decides to wait patiently in jail.
Lying on his bed, Arc hears a bell going off. Following the others prisoners, they come to an elevator. Riding it, they come to a large courtyard with the mare prisoners. As the food trough is filled with slop, the king and his lieutenants step forward to eat. Arc watches as they follow the ranks to see whom eats first. As the ‘C’s finish, the ‘D’s charge forward to get the last little bit of food left. Several even lick the trough in an attempt to feed. At the next meal Arc brings up this problem to Buffalo Bull as he eats. Sending his lieutenants to beat Arc to a pulp, he is surprised when Arc emerges unscathed. Taking the king down, Arc declares himself the new leader of the prison before grabbing a handful of slop and taking it to a weak and failing stallion nearby. Picking him up, Arc announces that the ‘D’s will now eat first. Forcing the others to approach the trough at a walk, he watches as they eat with dignity. Spitfire calls out to Arc in order to relay Virtuous Lance’s invitation to his office. Sitting down to a meal with the warden, Arc tells the stallion of his desire to wait for his court date. When asked why Arc tells the pair that he wishes to prove before the nation as a whole that he has always acted in their best interest and is innocent of any wrong doing.
Twilight and her friends attend the grand opening of ‘New Ponyville’ in Abyssinia. After the other citizens begin to move their few possessions into their new homes the Mane Six along with the monarchs head to the Town Hall. Rose and Auriel help explain how the air conditioning works before discussing their next move. Meanwhile, Decimus enters Celestia’s quarters with Tempest. They tell her of the comings and goings in Abyssinia. Convincing her that Twilight, her friends, and the citizens of Ponyville are being used for forced labor as Ashe and Gaston listen in from the ambassador’s office. Ashe leaves to call her father for more troops as Gaston notifies Sunset Shimmer of the situation. She decides to handle it herself and tells Gaston to stay out of it.
Spitfire and her guards escort Arc back to The Pit. After dumping him back in the filthy water, Arc finds Fortunate Ire waiting for him. Attempting to get in his good graces, the stallion gives him a chocolate bar. Walking him back to his room, Arc is informed that he no longer lives there. Showing him to Buffalo Bull’s room, Arc decides to shower in an effort to remove the pungent smell of the pool he fell into. Falling asleep as he bathes, Arc dreams of Twilight and Rarity rubbing up against him. However as he reaches for them they yelp and jump back. Opening his eyes he sees the two mares from earlier rubbing their bodies against him. Begging forgiveness, they bow nervously. Arc tells them to leave the room as he finished bathing. Dressing, he walks to the bedroom to find the mares there waiting for him. One is used as a pillow while the other for ‘stress relief’ (take that any way you want). Asking for a blanket and pillow, Arc gives them the bed and goes to sleep on the couch. Opening his eyes to a moonlit field, he spies Luna approaching him. She dresses him in his royal raiments and the pair talk about the state of affairs. Offering to break him out of prison via the Nightborn, Arc refuses saying he would rather have his day in court. Luna reluctantly agrees before summoning the Mane Six to the Lunar Realm. After talking matters over for some time, Arc requests a kitchen so they can cook together.
Awakening the next morning he spots the mares from last night kneeling before him nervously. Identifying themselves as Aloe and Vera, he learns that they were Buffalo Bull’s personal… call mares. Admitting to killing their parents, while in self-defense, they were each given a twenty year prison sentence to be served in Luna Bay Prison. Heading out the door with them, three stallions jump Arc. Aloe and Vera take two on as the bigger one heads for Arc. Knocking the stallion out with a single blow to the head causes the other two to run away. Arc picks his opponent up and heads for the ‘welcome room’ with the green, nasty pit of water. Tossing the stallion in, he awakens to find Arc and the mares looking at him angrily. Refusing to tell Arc whom put them up to attacking them, Arc orders him to clean the room with the other stallions as punishment as he heads to see Buffalo Bull. Accusing the stallion of sending the thugs after him, Arc is forced to defend himself from a flying weight. Sending if flying back at his assailant, Buffalo Bull maintains his innocence in the matter. As Arc and the mares leave so does he along with this lieutenants. Arc heads to Fortunate Ire’s room to question him about incoming messages. Telling the ‘shopkeeper’ that he knows he has a radio, Fortunate Ire leads him into a secret passage under his bunk. Spotting a radio hooked up to a computer, Arc reads numerous messages sent to Buffalo Bull from a supplier outside the prison whom has sent him licorice, candy bars, and canned goods. Not learning much from the coded messages, he and the mares leave the cell and proceed down the corridor together.
Heading to breakfast, Arc spots Buffalo Bull along with his lieutenants waiting for food. Approaching them, he is offered to sell the mares with him. Refusing, they stand ready to fight the stallion’s lieutenants. Convincing them to retreat, Arc asks to speak to Buffalo Bull privately. Heading back down the corridor toward the elevator, he interrogates the stallion whom reveals his escape plans for the entire Pit. Offering Arc a chance to escape, he refuses. As Buffalo Bull returns to the courtyard to eat Arc contacts Scootaloo telepathically. He tells her of what he’s learned and is surprised to hear that Decimus is aware of the plan. Scootaloo informs Arc that she has been assigned the task of leading the soldiers in their operation of rounding up the escapees and her more recent training by Decimus personally.
Returning to his room, Arc informs Aloe and Vera that there will be an escape soon. However, they will not be leaving, nor will he. Buffalo Bull makes preparation for that evening with his gang before heading to Arc’s room for a chat. Asking again for his help, Arc refuses even after hearing the entire plan. Heading out for supper, they wait in the corridor as the plan begins. As the diversion goes off on the other side of the prison, the prisoners head back to the large elevator. A few minutes later the real bomb exploded clearing a hole in the wall. Buffalo Bull leads the prisoners out it and into the night. Arc leads Aloe and Very to the courtyard to watch. They thank him for saving their lives and offer a few… questionable things as a reward as Spitfire and her guards fly out the hole after the prisoners. Hearing her scream, Arc steps outside the wall just in time to see Spitfire about to be raped. Stopping the stallions, he takes her back inside the courtyard and orders Aloe and Vera to apply pressure to her wounds. Checking what’s left of her uniform, Arc finds a keycard which allows him to access the catwalk. Looking around, he starts running to find the injured mare some help.
Locating the medical facility, Arc grabs a med-kit and hurries back toward the catwalk. However, before he arrives the door leading to it is sealed. Finding the warden’s office, he forces the door open only to find Virtuous Lance gravely wounded. Doing his best to help the stallion, Arc is suddenly overpowered by Kane and held down. Sunset Shimmer looks to him for a moment before deftly killing Virtuous Lance. Returning her gaze to Arc, she informs him that he was the one whom killed the warden before knocking his out. Spitfire arrives and, seeing the scene before her, assumes Arc to be the killer. He fears are confirmed by Sunset Shimmer along with Kane whom tell her that the arrived moments too late. Helping her take Arc to a maximum security cell known as ‘The Hole’, Arc is lowered down and chained up by his wrists and ankles. Wishing to speak to him, Spitfire orders a medic to administer a stimulant to awaken Arc. Opening his eyes, Arc is beaten by Spitfire before her own medical condition catches up to her. Being pulled out of the cell, the door overhead is locked as guards watch over him wordlessly. Calling out telepathically, he informs Scootaloo of the situation. She promises to contact Twilight and rectify the situation. Sometime later that night Arc is broken out of prison by Ember, Hammer, and Tempest. Opening a dark portal, Tempest leads them through to relative safety.
However many questions remain unanswered. Why is Arc so concerned with clearing his name? What is Gaston’s true goal here? How fair of a trial did Arc expect? What will become of Aloe and Vera? Why is Decimus so fascinated by Scootaloo? Will Spitfire ever learn the truth about Arc? How did Twilight contact Tempest? And why is she now helping Arc?
Time will tell. Sooner or later… time will tell.