//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 - Assault on Liberty 
// Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds 
// by Kamahido 
//------------------------------//

Arc along with Hammer board The Equinox and head for the Bridge. Ember is already there along with Sereb and the squad. She frowns at Arc as they approach.

“About time you got here!”

Sereb nods soberly. “We are ready to depart.”

Max salutes. “As are we, sir!”

Viktor looks toward the main window. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

Xenos stomps the floor hard. “Yeah! And make Decimus pay!”

Hugh looks to Arc. “Will he even be there, sir?”

“No idea. But either way we can’t let this happen.”

He turns to the captain.

“Get us underway as soon as possible, Soarin.”

“Yes sir.”

Thunderlane turns from the pilot’s seat. “Our flight path is locked in and ready, sir.”

Moon Dancer smiles. “Scanners are prepped.”

Lemon Hearts calls out. “Comms are clear.”

Wrangler grins. “Weapons will be ready as soon as we’re in the air!”

Arc shakes his head. “Negative. Put everything you can into propulsion. Right now speed is everything.”

Soarin nods as he presses a button. “I’ll let the Engine Room know, sir. Stellar Flare will get us there in one piece.”

“Good.”

Ember look to Soarin. “Anything else we can do to help?”

“No, ma’am. We’ll take it from here.”

Sereb sighs. “Then I recommend we all get some rest.”

Hammer stretches. “Agreed.”

Ember yawns. “Yeah. I’m pretty tired from today anyways.”

Lemon Hearts looks to Arc. “I’ll be sure to wake you in time for our arrival, sir.”

“Alright. I’ll be in my quarters.”

He turns to his squad.

“Get some rest too. We need to be ready for anything.”

They salute as Arc leaves the Bridge with Hammer and Ember. Heading to his room Arc opens the door and steps inside. Sitting down on the bed he sighs. Hammer raises an eyebrow.

“Everything okay?”

“Not really.”

Ember walks over to him. “Want to talk about it?”

“I’m playing right into Decimus’ hoof.”

Hammer frowns. “We know.”

“But what else can I do?”

Hammer shrugs. “Nothing really.”

Ember puts a claw on his shoulder. “If we fail, those ponies are going to become mindless slaves.”

Arc looks out the window. “Yeah. And if we succeed they’ll think we’re the invaders.”

Hammer sighs. “Isn’t that better than the alternative?”

“It is, yes. That’s the only reason I’m doing this.”

Ember puts her chin on his shoulder. “We know you’ve had a long day, Arc. Why don’t you lie down and take a nap?”

“The two of us will keep watch over you.”

“Fine.”

As Arc lies down Hammer and Ember sit down on the couch together. A few minutes later his rhythmic snore rings out in the otherwise quiet room. As the ship takes off Ember looks to the young man on the bed and smiles.

“That’s a nice sight.”

“Yeah. He’s really cute like that.”

“I remember thinking that very thing when we were flying back from the Dragon Lands. Arc had just gotten his memories back and had introduced us to his new friend, the Scarlet Filly.”

“For what it’s worth, I did believe she was a bit… different when I originally met her back on Earth.”

“Scootaloo’s very… mature for her age.”

Hammer nods. “Like a little adult.”

“Not sure if that’s good though.”

“What do you mean?”

“It just seems like she should be running and playing with other foals. Not flying around with us.”

Hammer chuckles. “Jealous?”

“Not really. I mean… it’s not like Arc’s in love with her, or anything.”

“Yeah. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who’s into that sort of thing.”

“Arc’s like a father to that little filly. She’d follow him to the end of the world.”

“Like us?”

“I guess.”

“What do you mean ‘I guess’?”

“Well… as powerful as we all are, getting killed just really hasn’t been something I thought about until…”

Hammer interrupts her. “…until Arc was believed to be dead?”

Ember nods before she continues.

“I’ve done a lot of thinking since then, and came to a conclusion.”

“Which is…?”

Ember looks over to the bed and smiles before turning back to Hammer.

“That the road to moving past Arc’s death was long, winding, and hard to walk. Death comes for all of us at some point. Even dragons eventually. But moving on may take years. Decades even.”

“I guess. I mean… I didn’t know anything had even happened when I was waiting for him back on Earth.”

“Be glad you didn’t. Everything was a constant reminder of him and the time we spent together.”

“You said dragons live a long time, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“So you’ll outlive all of us?”

“In theory, yes.”

“How are you planning on coping with Arc’s real death.”

Ember looks away. “I don’t know yet. I… just don’t…”

Hammer puts a hand on her shoulder. “Then let’s just make sure he stays alive for as long as we can.”

Ember nods as the pair turns to look out the window again. A short time later they lean back and fall asleep where they sit. As the sun reaches its lowest point, twilight covers the land. The sound of Arc’s door opening rings out as light hoofsteps quietly move toward the bed. As they reach the halfway point, Ember peeks out from around the sofa and watches the intruder for a moment as she mutters to herself.

“Oh no you don’t.”

Jumping over the sofa, she lunges as the pony knocking them head over heels across the floor. Arc wakes up and turns on the light near his bed. The illumination spills over the room identifying the attacker. He gasps.

“Spitfire?!”

Charging toward Arc, she is knocked away by Ember whom throws herself toward the mare. Flying to the other side of the room, Spitfire gets up and makes a break for the door on foot. Hammer draws her gun, takes aim, and fires. Hitting the mare in one of her hind legs she cries out in pain as the smell of burning fur and flesh fills the room. Taking flight, she again tries to get away, but Ember does so as well, reaching the door before her and blocking her escape.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Drawing a knife from her belt, Spitfire hurls it at Arc. Calling forth his armor it bounces harmlessly away from him as Hammer leaps over the couch to tackle the intruder. As she drops onto the mare Hammer grabs one of her hinds legs. Making a quick twisting movement a snap rings out. Crying out, Spitfire pulls another knife to ward the woman away. Seeing this, Ember calls forth her spear and smacks the hoof with it, forcing her to drop the knife as the sound of her other leg breaking rings out. Lunging off the bed, Arc joins them in attempting to restrain the mare. She resists with such intensity that Arc eventually lays on top her in an effort to pin her to the floor. Her wings flapping wildly, Ember and Hammer turn and nod to one another. In tandem they strike her wings, Ember with the butt of her spear and Hammer with the butt of her gun. Two sickening snap rings out as the do so. Screaming as tears flow down her face, Arc slowly lets the pressure off and steps back.

“What the heck…?!”

Spitfire gasps through the pain. “Go ahead… end it…!”

Arc sighs. “Believe me, I’d love to. But I have more important things to do right now.”

Touching his earring, Arc calls out.

“Arc to Lemon Hearts.”

“Lemon Hearts here, sir.”

“I have a medical emergency in my quarters. Send for Nurse Redheart and tell Wrangler to come here along with a stretcher.”

“Right away sir!”

“Arc out.”

Closing the transmission, he turns back to Spitfire. She seethes as every movement she makes sends unimaginable pain throughout her body.

“What’s next?! Torture?!”

Ember looks at the mare and shakes her head. “Think we already did that.”

Hammer grimaces. “Yeah. That looks… painful.”

“IT IS PAINFUL!!!”

Ember narrows her eyes. “Let’s address the elephant in the room. Why are you here this time?”

“Because he needs to go DOWN!”

Arc sighs. “You still think I killed the general, don’t you?”

“YOU DID!!!”

“No, I didn’t.”

The door opens. Wrangler enters first as Redheart hurries inside pushing a gurney. She gasps at the sight before her but gets right to work as Wrangler turns to Arc.

“What happened, sir?!”

“Looks like we have an assassin on our hands.”

Ember seethes. “Right! She tried to kill Arc!”

Hammer grins as she holsters her gun. “So much for that!”

Arc looks to Redheart. “Can you stabilize her?”

“Yes sir. But these injuries look pretty bad.”

Spitfire grits her teeth. “I’ll tell you NOTHING!”

Arc frowns. “Keep her restrained at all times, Redheart. I don’t think she’s in any condition to get away, but don’t take chances.”

Wrangler nods. “Agreed. I’ll order some around the clock guards to watch her until we get back to Canterlot, sir.”

“Good. She’s as dangerous as they come.”

Spitfire cries out as she is strapped down to the gurney. “Fool! You’d better just kill me, because I’m not going to stop!”

She turns to Arc as best she can, clearly furious.

“Do you hear me, you murderer! I’M NOT GOING TO STOP!!!”

Ember jerks a thumb towards the door. “Get her out of here!”

Hammer clenches a fist. “Yeah! Before I give her what she’s asking for!”

Wrangler and Redheart carry the stretcher out of the room as Ember follows them and closes the door. Turning back to the others, she frowns.

“What the heck was all THAT about?!”

Arc groans. “She’s still convinced that I killed her former commanding officer.”

Hammer scoffs. “If he was anything like her, he had it coming.”

“But I didn’t kill him. Diva did that.”

Ember nods soberly. “We believe you, Arc.”

Arc sighs. “Thanks. But try telling that to her.”

Hammer cracks her knuckles. “We could if you want us to.”

“Nah. Just let Redheart and Wrangler deal with her for now.”

He frowns and turn toward the door.

“Let’s head to the Bridge.”

Hammer shrugs. “Yeah. We’ve got to be getting close.”

As they walk out the door, Arc turns to them and smiles.

“Sorry for not saying this sooner, but thanks for the save you two. What exactly happened though?”

Ember grunts. “I heard something. Thought it was you heading to the bathroom for a moment before I realized that the steps were too loud for that.”

Hammer chuckles. “What a wakeup call.”

“You did great too, Hammer.”

Hammer shrugs. “I just kinda reacted.”

“Yeah. I’m just glad she woke me up.”

Arc grins. “Me too.”

Arriving at the Bridge they approach the squad along with Soarin. The stallion looks to him as they approach the command chair.

“We’re almost there, sir.”

Max nods as he points a hoof at the others. “And we’re ready to go.”

Lemon Hearts nods. “I was just about to call you, sir.”

“Someone beat you to it.”

Moon Dancer appears confused. “Who?”

Ember brandishes her claws. “An assassin.”

Thunderlane gasps. “What?!”

Soarin’s eyes grow wide. “All the way up here?!”

Arc nods. “Somehow, yes.”

Hammer shakes her head. “They were the medical emergency.”

Soarin puts a hoof to his chin. “Well, that explains why Wrangler isn’t back yet.”

Arc looks to the Bridge door. “She’s probably watching the prisoner like a hawk.”

Hammer laughs. “Not that they could get away with injuries like that.”

Ember frowns. “Well, we shouldn’t take chances at this point.”

Arc looks to Thunderlane. “In any case, are we in visual range yet?”

“Just barely, sir.”

Soarin hands Arc a pair of binoculars. “You can just see the ‘Mare Statue’ from here, sir.”

Arc looks through the binoculars and nods.

“Yup. That’s our target.”

Thunderlane appears confused. “Sir?”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “No one briefed you guys?”

Soarin shakes his head. “No, sir. I was just told to be ready to fly to Manehattan.”

Ember chuckles. “We’re going to blow up the statue.”

Moon Dancer gasps. “What?!”

Hammer groans. “It sounds bad when you say it like that, Ember.”

Arc shrugs. “She’s not wrong.”

Lemon Hearts grimaces. “Sir, I understand that you’re above the law. But why exactly are we going to destroy a priceless piece of history?”

“Because we believe that the new torch has a mind control crystal in it.”

Thunderlane raises an eyebrow. “Sir?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but we need to do this in order to save the citizens of Manehattan.”

Soarin appears nervous. “Does Princess Twilight know we’re doing this, sir?”

“Yes. She was present for the situation report. While not exactly happy about it, she agreed that the citizen’s safety needs to come first.”

Moon Dancer sighs. “What’s the plan, sir?”

“I need to speak to Platinum Valve and Sunburst about that.”

Touching his earring, Arc calls out.

“Arc to Sunburst.”

“Sunburst here, sir.”

“Any headway on how to destroy that crystal?”

“It’ll take a single blast from our cannons. But only at the right frequency.”

“How do we figure that out?”

“Platinum Valve and I are still doing the calculations. It’s going to take a bit more time though.”

Ember frowns. “Time we don’t have!”

Hammer nods soberly. “Can’t you speed it up?!”

Arc shakes his head. “Haste makes waste, you two. Get it done correctly.”

“Yes sir. How much longer until we arrive?”

“The statue is in sight through binoculars.”

“Oh my! You’ll have to stall for a bit then!”

“I’ll buy you as much time as I can.”

“A bit of advice, sir. Monologue.”

Hammer raises an eyebrow. “Mono… what?”

Sunburst chuckles. “Just start talking. The ponies will most likely listen to what you have to say. However whether or not they’ll agree with it is another matter entirely. If you’re lucky you can convince whomever is in charge of the project to willingly shut it down.”

Ember rolls her eyes. “That’s hoping for a lot.”

Hammer nods. “Yeah. After all, who stops after coming this far?”

Sereb frowns. “It is worth a shot, yes?”

Arc shrugs. “I suppose. In any case, I’ll buy you as long as I can. 

“One more thing, sir. We believe there is still a chance that this is all just a setup.”

Sereb growls. “Setup or not, we must act!”

Sunburst nods as he continues. “Agreed. But Platinum Valve believes she has an idea.”

“I’m listening.”

“She’s volunteered to infiltrate the statue and verify the setup inside the body of it.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?”

“It would be the easiest way to determine if the statue truly is a threat to public safety. If it isn’t she’ll call and advise you on what to do next.”

Hammer frowns. “That’s putting a lot of faith in a filly.”

Ember nods soberly. “And a lot of risk too.”

Max turns to Arc. “Sir, we could infiltrate the statue instead.”

Hugh nods. “Yes, we’re trained for that sort of thing.”

Xenos grins. “Like you said before, you can buy us time.”

Sereb raises an eyebrow. “You understand how this device is supposed to work?”

Viktor chuckles. “I know how a lightbulb is supposed to be wired up. If it’s more complicated it’ll prove something isn’t right.”

Platinum Valve steps forward and speaks into the radio. “That may be. But you won’t know exactly what. I’ve seen the original schematics taken from King Sombra many years ago and know the general layout of the Mare Statue from the blueprints.”

Sunburst sighs. “She is certainly… qualified for this, sir.”

Ember groans. “But she’s a filly!”

Hammer frowns. “Yeah! Why don’t you just go, mister smarty-pants?!”

Platinum Valve shakes her head. “Because Sunburst needs to stay here and continue trying to figure out how to destroy the crystal.”

Arc sighs. “There really isn’t anyone else I can send to do this, is there?”

Soarin looks to Arc. “How about an escort of some kind for her?”

Sereb nods. “I would be willing to go with her.”

Platinum Valve frowns. “But you’re too big.”

“I can go into my Cub Form.”

“Even still, you should go with Arc.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Why, Platinum Valve? I mean, I can spare him to keep you safe.”

“Because if he isn’t in sight Decimus will know something’s up.”

Wrangler nods soberly. “He would too.”

“That and even if somepony spots me I could just say that I got lost.”

Moon Dancer looks to Arc. “It would certainly be plausible, sir.”

“Worst case scenario they’d take me to the guards and try to find my parents.”

Lemon Hearts gasps. “But we’d never find you in there!”

“Arc’s wolf friend could sniff me out.”

Sereb nods. “I suppose I could, yes.”

Arc thinks for a moment before speaking. “Do you have an entry point?”

Platinum Valve nods. “There’s an access panel at the base of the statue. It’s hidden behind some bushes to keep up appearances. However that also means that I could take it off without anypony noticing something was up.”

Moon Dances sighs. “Sounds like she has it all figured out, sir.”

Arc groans. “I still don’t like this idea.”

“Please let me, sir! I want to… no… I NEED to do my part to stop Decimus’s plan!”

Looking around the group wordlessly for a few moments Arc eventually sighs and nods.

“Alright. But only if you go in wearing one of my magic cloaks. Do you know how to use one?”

“I can do that, yes.”

“Alright, get to the Bridge and we’ll get started.”

Platinum Valve turns and runs for the door. “On my way!”

Sunburst steps forward again. “She just left, sir.”

“Good. Do you need anything else from us?”

“Just time.”

“Alright. We’ll do what we can. Arc out.”

Severing the connection, he turns to Thunderlane.

“Continue our present course. I need to get closer to see what’s going on.”

Hammer makes a swinging motion with her fist. “So we can clobber em?!”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Uh… more along the lines of so I can formulate a plan.”

Ember frowns. “You mean…?!”

“Yeah. Might have to go in there without one.”

Sereb puts a paw over his face and groans. “Why am I not surprised?”

A short time later Moon Dancer calls out.

“Strange readings coming from the statue, sir!”

Soarin frowns. “Where from?”

“The torch!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Guess that confirms it.”

Ember mutters. “Was hoping you were wrong.”

Hammer frowns. “Arc’s never wrong!”

Arc groans as Wrangler hurries onto the Bridge and takes her place. “Trust me, that’s not accurate. Any other ships nearby?”

Wrangler grins. “Yeah! Give me something to shoot!”

Moon Dancer shakes her head. “Nothing on radar, sir.”

Lemon Hearts looks over to him. “Comms are clear as well.”

Thunderlane frowns. “They could be on the ground waiting.”

Sereb looks out the window. “Not likely. The statue is on a small island with little to no cover.”

Hammer appears hopeful. “At least the weapon isn’t online yet… right?”

Moon Dancer shakes her head. “At the moment, no.”

Lemon Hearts calls out. “Incoming transmission, sir.”

Arc appears surprised. “From who?”

“It’s a city-wide broadcast to dedicate the statue.”

Hammer raises an eyebrow. “I don’t get it. If they’re just going to enslave everyone, why bother making a speech?”

Arc grits his teeth. “Because Decimus is a blowhard. He wants to put on a show to make himself feel good in front of the Council of Shadows. Kinda like General Mustang.”

Ember clenches a fist. “Right.”

Arc turns to Lemon Hearts. “In any case, put it on the main speakers.”

“Aye, sir.”

As she does so Decimus’ voice rings out from the radio. Arc frowns as he calls out.

“Do we know where Decimus is broadcasting from?”

Thunderlane gasps. “The statue itself!”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “How do you…?”

“Because I can see him!”

Arc runs over and takes the binoculars from Thunderlane’s hoof. Looking through them he frowns.

“That arrogant little…!”

Ember frowns. “Arc?”

“He’s standing at the foot of the statue!”

Hammer grins. “So let’s blast that little rat!”

Arc shakes his head. “Not a good plan. There are a number of civilian crafts all around the island listening to him live.”

Soarin groans. “Living shields.”

Moon Dancer gasps. “That’s monstrous!”

Thunderlane turns to Arc. “Orders, sir?”

“Turn and orbit the statue at roughly this range.”

“On it, sir!”

“Lemon Heart’s order my all other forces to head to the prepare to reinforce me if needed.”

“Right away, sir.”

“Wrangler, ready the weapons. But do not fire until I give the order.

“Aye, sir.”

“Moon Dancer, watch for energy spikes from the torch. Let me know if it begins to power up.”

“Yes, sir.”

Platinum Valve rushes onto the Bridge as the others stand around Arc. He turns and motions for her to approach as he holds out a magic cloak.

“Put this on and get in close! We’re Blinking in!”

Hurrying to do so, she takes her place and vanishes. Arc calls forth his armor and powers up his crystals.

“Here we go!”

In the Blink of an eye Arc and company vanish and reappear in front of Decimus’ platform. Platinum Valve, unseen to everyone present, quickly and quietly moves toward the plants that conceal the access panel. Pulling a tool from her saddlebags she gets to work opening it. In seconds it swings open.

“Here we go.”

Meanwhile, Decimus glares at the new arrivals.

“YOU!”

Arc pulls his spear and looks to Decimus. “Yes me!”

Turning to a nearby stallion, Decimus points.

“Cut the feed!”

Hammer lunges at the stallion over his control panel, knocking him to the ground. With a single blow she knocks him out and turns back to Arc.

“Asset secured, sir.”

“Thank you, Hammer. Everyone else, secure the perimeter. I’d like to have a… a  few words with this so-called Hero of Light here. See to it that we are not interrupted.”

They fan out as Arc steps forward, spear in gauntlet. Decimus glares at him.

“So it appears the reports were true.”

Arc nods as he walks across the podium to stand across from his nemesis. The reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.

He narrows his eyes before continuing.

“I wonder how that happened?!”

“But I… we all thought…!”

“Of course everyone believed me dead and gone! After all, you yourself wrote the report about it!”

Decimus rolls his eyes. “Well, of course I did! I was THERE!”

“Conveniently.”

“Remember, YOU’RE the traitor here, not me!”

Sereb turns to Arc and whispers something to him. Nodding, the young man looks sternly at Decimus.

“Am I? Then answer me this… why are you sweating?”

With a flick of his wrist, Arc casts a Telekinesis Spell. Decimus’ cybernetic Hero of Light helmet flies across the stage with a clang. Sweat pours down his face as he glares at Arc.

“How did you know…?”

“A little birdie told me. Or… a really big one. Now then, why don’t you finish your speech, Decimus?”

Meanwhile, Platinum Valve hops inside the statue. Spotting a number of cables snaking upward she begins climbing. Coming to a small vent she peeks through and looks around as best she is able as she listens intently. Hearing nothing, the little filly turns and bucks the grille knocking it loose. The metal clangs noisily to the side as she sits there silently and waits. A few seconds pass before she climbs out and hops down to a catwalk below.

“I must be around the belly. Let’s see here… how to get to the torch.”

Picking a direction, Platinum Valve run until she spots a door marked ‘keep out’. Trying the knob she finds it locked. Grinning, she pulls out a lockpick.

“Let’s see if I remember what dad taught me.”

Fiddling with the tumblers for a few moments, she slowly puts pressure on the knob before giving a final prodding with her pick. The door’s lock clicks as it disengages. Putting the pick back in her saddlebags, Platinum Valve hurries through the now unlocked door and finds a ladder going up. Sighing, she starts climbing.

“Never knew being a hero was such hard work.”

Reaching the top, she looks around a good sized room. Taking off the magic cloak, she folds it up and quickly shoves it in her saddlebags. Platinum Valve’s eyes follow the massive cables which snake upward into a dome overhead. Hurrying over to an electrical panel she pulls out a screwdriver and gets to work.

“Gotta disconnect the power first.”

Meanwhile, Arc looks to Decimus.

“No, really. Continue.

“I would love to. But that’s rather… difficult with you here.”

“Oh don’t feel the need to stop on my account. Tell me, where did you leave off? And don’t worry. Everyone in Manehattan can still hear you.”

“Well… I was just reminding everypony of the… cultural significance of this statue.”

Arc makes a motions with his gauntlet in a circular pattern. “Go on.”

“And how important it is to remember our nation’s history.”

“Uh huh.”

“You see, the new… renovations to the statue will see to it that it… stands for generations to come.”

“Will it now?”

Decimus nods as he gestures to the towering building around them on the mainland. “Oh, yes. Everypony all across the city will be able to bask in its glow.”

“Yes, yes. At least for a little while.”

Decimus appears confused. “Little while?”

“Until that crystal in the torch does its thing, right?”

“Crystal?”

“Oh yes. My ship detected it with its sensors.”

“I don’t understand. Why would I have a…?”

Arc narrows his eyes. “I think we both know about King Sombra from the old history books.”

“How does that…?”

“You know… the guy whom enslaved the Crystal Empire. Tell me, how did he do it?”

Decimus looks away. “I… don’t seem to recall.”

“Then let me tell you. He did so by utilizing large statues with specialized gemstones in them to control the population.”

“And you think I’m trying to do the same?”

“Something like it, yes.”

Decimus chuckles. “Quite the imagination you have there. Do you have any tangible proof of this?”

“Well, there was a lot of work done to the torch, wasn’t there?”

“Yes. A new style of bulb, new housing, new electrical panels, new wiring…”

Arc interrupts him. “New wiring, you say?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Well then, let’s take a look at that wiring, shall we?”

He points to the statue’s outstretched hoof and nods to Ember. Taking flight, she slashes at the statue’s fetlock which holds the torch to expose the large cables inside. Gravity pulls them into view as the squad shines a couple commandeered spotlights on them. Platinum Valve gazes at the noise down the ladder for a moment before going back to work.

“Good thing I just pulled the disconnect… for whomever did that.”

Hopping onto a nearby ladder leading up into the torch itself, Platinum Valve makes the smaller climb in but a few seconds. Reaching the highest point of the statue she looks out at Manehattan.

“Nice view!”

Returning to her task, she looks around to see innumerable plates which point in all directions. Frowning, she mutters to herself.

“I don’t see any light bulbs up her.”

Tracing the wires back to a central hub, she finds a panel and opens it. Inside sits a rather large crystal which pulsates with an eerie glow. Staring at it for a few moments, Platinum Valve shakes her head as if to clear it before slamming the door shut and rolling away from it to lie on her back. Breathing heavily, she groans.

“That… that isn’t good.”

Reaching into her saddlebags, the filly pulls out a radio and flicks it on.

“Platinum Valve to Sunburst!”

“Sunburst here. Find anything?”

“This thing… it’s not good!”

“What do you see?”

“Plates aimed in all directions connected to a weird crystal inside a housing.”

Sunburst frowns as he looks over the schematics before him. “A similar design as the one from King Sombra’s time.”

Platinum Valve grimaces. “Y-yeah. Just looking at the crystal made me feel like my brain was being stirred with a spoon.”

Sunburst gasps. “YOU OPENED THE HOUSING?!”

“Had to be sure.”

“That’s beyond dangerous though!”

“So is letting this thing activate. Believe me, I knew the risks.”

Sunburst groans. “We need to get you to the Infirmary aboard ship to make sure you’re alright. Can you make it?”

Platinum Valve nods as she struggles to her hooves. “I… I think I can. Did you figure out… how to destroy this thing yet?”

“Sadly, no.”

“Plan B then?”

Sunburst sighs. “Indeed. I’ll call the Bridge to have the message relayed to him. Are you ready for your extraction?”

Platinum Valve nods as she looks toward the skyline. “Give me a… a bit of a head start before you call Arc.”

“What does he need to do?”

Meanwhile, Arc turns to Decimus as he points to the now exposed wires hanging down.

“That’s an awful lot of cables for just one bulb.”

Decimus glares at him. “It’s a much more powerful one though. More electricity was required.”

“Along with the new electrical panels?”

“Yes! They needed to be modernized!””

Arc points a gauntlet at the nearby electrical panels. “If you replaced them for that reason, then why are the old ones still there?

“Because we just added to the old to save money! Listen… we can talk about this later. Right now I need to finish my speech.”

Arc narrows his eyes. “So do I.”

As Decimus turns back to his microphone Arc puts a finger to his earring. Listening intently, he nods.

“Fine. Tell her that she’s the signal.”

As Arc looks up at the torch, Platinum Valve crawls over to one of the floor to ceiling windows. Pulling a good-sized tool from her saddlebags, she heaves it at the window. The glass shatters, causing chunks of glass to fall all around Decimus and the podium. Half stumbling and only barely conscious, the filly throws herself out the window. The spotlights trained on the torch by the squad illuminate the filly’s small body as it falls. Arc Blinks to her, wraps his arms around the filly, turns away to position his body (and armor) between her and the statue  while calling out a command.

“FIRE!!!”

A beam of light screams across the sky toward the statue from the west. It hits the torch, obliterating it as small debris rains down on everyone. Those in boats in front of the island start them up and flee in terror. Sereb looks all around with Ember before pointing to a large chunk falling from the sky.

“There!”

Ember spreads her wings and takes flight. Matching the speed of the falling object, she is joined by Arc’s squad in carrying it to the ground below. Hammer assists by aiming a camera at the group trying to carry the crystal together. As they let go it lands in the dirt in front of the podium, along with a large portion of the statue’s hoof and torch which falls on top of Decimus. Arc frowns as he Blinks in front of it and calls out.

“Arc to Moon Dancer. I need confirmation of what I’m looking at.”

Moon Dancer grimaces as she looks over her instruments. “That matches both Platinum Valve's report and the scans from earlier, sir. It’s a bona-fide mind control crystal.”