Arriving at the Cloudsdale Hospital Arc looks around as the portal closes behind him. He spots nurses and orderlies loading the rescued ponies onto stretches. Ember grabs Arc’s arm and whirls him around to face her.
Arriving at the Cloudsdale Hospital Arc looks around as the portal closes behind him. He spots nurses and orderlies loading the rescued ponies onto stretches. Ember grabs Arc’s arm and whirls him around to face her.
“What the heck did you FIND?!”
Hammer frowns. “It looked like a third world prison in there!”
Arc grimaces as he reaches for his earring. “That isn’t far from the truth. But right now I need to get Redheart over here. “
Ember motions to the victims. “Fine. Let’s all lend a hand.”
Arc and company get to work. As the sun rises they meet in the head doctor’s office with Redheart. Looking to the exhausted Nurse Redheart Arc speaks.
“How’d it go?”
“Everypony is now resting comfortably. We’ve fully examined all of the patients and have begun the process of rehydrating them via intravenous saline solution.”
“Any fatalities?”
Redheart shakes her head. “None. They’re very weak right now, but will regain their strength shortly.”
Ember grits her teeth. “Good. We need to know what happened over there.”
Hammer clenches a fist. “Right! This was intentional!”
Arc shudders. “Not just that. It looked like literal torture.”
Scootaloo turns to him. “Big Brother?”
Ember stomps a foot. “Whomever did that was a monster! I mean, they could have KILLED them!”
Hammer snaps her finger. “I think that might have been the idea.”
Arc nods. “Right. They had to know we’d head over there at some point.
Redheart sighs. “They kill the base personnel and lay them around the base with post mortem wounds inflicted to make it look like they were defending the facility. Then we show up and call in the deaths of everyone.”
Sereb growls.” No defense would have exonerated us!”
Scootaloo gasps. “That’s terrible!”
Ember grimaces. “For both us and the victims.”
Hammer shudders. “What a way to die though.”
Scootaloo looks to Arc. “Starving to death?”
“No. Dehydration.”
Hammer nods soberly. “Quicker, but not much better.”
Scootaloo looks toward the telephone on the desk. “Rose and Sereb will find anypony else in there though, right?”
Redheart taps her clipboard. “I’ve already heard from them. Apparently Rose came across the base’s files. She counted the number of active duty personnel and subtracted those on leave. The final count matches the number of patients we have here.”
“Was she sure?”
“Very. I’m told she ran the numbers three times just to make sure nopony was left behind.”
Arc appears relieved. “So the base is empty now?”
Redheart nods. “Save for your forces searching it, yes.”
Hammer gasps. “What about support staff?!”
“She’s compensated for that as well.”
Arc sighs. “Good.”
There is a knock at the door. Arc opens it with his magic. A nurse hurries over to him.
“Sir, the head of the Wonderbolt’s Academy is asking to see you.”
“They are?”
“Well, not YOU exactly. Just a representative of Canterlot.”
“Are they up to that?”
Redheart shakes her head. “It’s not advisable, sir. Everypony really should be resting.”
“He’s very insistent though. Says it’s urgent.”
Arc stands. “Fine. Lead the way.”
Redheart calls out after him. “Try to keep it short, sir!”
“I’ll try.”
Following the nurse down several corridors they stop in front of a private room. She motions to the door.
“He’s in here, sir.”
“Thank you, nurse.”
“Please try to keep it short. He really does need to rest.”
Nodding, Arc calls forth his armor and enters the room. He spies an elderly stallion in bed with numerous IVs hooked up to him. At the sound of his footsteps the patient slowly opens his eyes and calls out weakly.
“Are… are you…?”
“Yes, I’m Hero of Light Arc.”
“My fliers…? Are they…?”
Arc nods. “We went through your records to get a head count. All were present and accounted for. They’re resting just like you should be.”
The stallion struggles to sit up. “You got us… out?”
“Yes, my forces and I found you in the basement. Why don’t we start with your name though.”
“Headmaster… Wing, sir.”
“Does that mean you’re the highest authority at the academy?”
Wing nods. “Yes. I’m responsible for… everypony. That’s why we were… in the panic room.”
“But what were you doing there?”
“Princess Celestia… told us to. She came to… the base. At least it looked like her… at the time.”
“But it wasn’t?”
Wing shakes his head. “No. Told us… to lead her to… panic room. Found cages down there. She… she said it was a… drill of some kind.”
“Then she locked you all in there and left?”
Not… exactly. Some kind of gas… knocked us all out. When we awoke… she was just locking… last cage. She, the princess… changed into a bird… before pressing door button… and flying out.
Arc groans. “A changeling!”
“Had to be.”
“I know all about their presence in Equestria.”
“You’ll take care… of those fiends?”
“When I find them, yes. Now I’m sure you have other things to say, but please try to get some rest. I’ll come see you tomorrow.”
Nodding, the stallion lays back down as Arc heads for the door. Leaving, he return to the office and looks to Redheart.
“See to it everyone gets all the support they need.”
“Yes sir. If I may, what did the headmaster have to say?”
“That he and the others were tricked into captivity by a changeling. I’ll know more when he recovers enough to talk more about what happened in depth though.”
Scootaloo turns to Arc. “What now though?”
Ember appears hopeful. “Breakfast?”
Arc shrugs. “That does sound good. But I want to go see how Rainbow Dash and her parents are doing.”
Hammer frowns. “Blue’s okay though, right?”
“Fine. But I need to see them about something.”
Redheart motions to the desk. “I’ll stay here and get to filling out the forms for our patients while I wait for the doctor to return with this morning’s vitals. Canterlot will need a full report on what exactly their conditions are.”
Hammer shudders. “Paperwork. The bane of my existence.”
Arc nods to Redheart as he turns to leave. “We’ll leave you to it then. Come on, everyone.”
Ember shrugs. “You do that. I’m heading to the Cafeteria.”
“Suit yourself.”
Leaving the office, Arc and the others head to the familiar hospital room. However as they approach the door Zephyr Breeze steps around the corner. He appears confused at the group before him.
“What the…?”
Scootaloo motions to the door. “We’re here to check on your parents.”
Zephyr gasps, wide-eyed. “Did something happen?!”
Hammer shakes her head. “Nah. Just routine stuff.”
Entering the room they see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash in chairs next to the beds talking. Cloud Sweeper and Strawberry Shy are sitting up and looking much better. Rainbow Dash is the first to speak.
“So how’d it go?!”
Fluttershy nods hopefully. “Everything okay at the academy?”
Arc sighs. “We got there just in time.”
Scootaloo shudders. “They were locked in the basement.”
Rainbow Dash explodes. “WHAT?!”
Hammer gives a thumbs up. “But we bailed em out and brought everyone to the hospital, blue!”
Arc nods. “Right. They’ll be fine in a day or two.”
Zephyr walks over to Rainbow Dash and smiles at her. “Thanks for keeping my parents and sister company.”
Rainbow Dash forces a smile as she looks away. “Uh… no problem.”
Fluttershy giggles. “We were just talking about stories from a long time ago.”
Cloud Sweeper looks to Zephyr soberly. “That we were. But right now we need to talk to you, son.”
Zephyr appears suddenly nervous. “What about?”
Strawberry Shy sighs. “The future mostly.”
Rainbow Dash bows her head. “Our future mostly.”
Fluttershy smiles insincerely. “Yes, well… we don’t really know how to say this without upsetting you though.”
Zephyr’s ears droop as he bows his head. “I guess you figured it out, huh?”
Cloud Sweeper raises an eyebrow. “Son?”
“That I… didn’t really come here to talk to employers.”
Strawberry Shy tilts her head to the side, confused. “Then why…?”
“Honestly, I came back to see if I could move back in with you and dad.”
Fluttershy frowns. “What’s wrong with that?”
Hammer shrugs. “Yeah. I mean everyone has a bit of trouble landing their first job after graduating, right?”
“I suppose so. But that’s a bit more complicated than you all know.”
Scootaloo turns to him. “Then why don’t you start at the beginning?”
“That’s probably for the best.”
Zephyr takes a deep breath before continuing.
“First off, I… I didn’t actually graduate.”
Strawberry Shy appears hopeful. “You mean not yet, right?”
Zephyr shakes his head. “No, mom. I mean that I… dropped out.”
Cloud Sweeper frowns. “How long ago?”
“About a month after I enrolled.”
Fluttershy raises an eyebrow. “But mom was always writing to tell me how well you were doing!”
“Right! Your report cards were always flawless!”
“To be honest, the first job I got after dropping out was in the school office as a messenger. I used that position to snag a bunch of school stationary and blank report cards so I could fill them out myself and send them back home.”
Cloud Sweeper groans. “But why son?!”
“Because I always wanted to be something you and mom could be proud of. But I couldn’t even hold down that simple office job for more than a few days.”
Hammer appears skeptical. “So what’d you do for money then?”
“Hopped from place to place. But eventually my name and reputation got around. After that nopony would hire me.”
Rainbow Dash gasps. “So you’re a dropout and unemployed?!”
“Right. I only came back home when I did because I was out of bits and needed a place to stay.”
Arc looks to Zephyr. “What about all that talk at dinner the other day? About you studying magic.”
Fluttershy sighs. “He’s always studied that.”
“It’s just so fascinating! But being the only pegasus in an all unicorn school… it just didn’t work out.”
Cloud Sweeper bows his head. “We know.”
“You do?”
Strawberry Shy nods. “Yes. After all, we understood that you could learn every fact about magic.”
Fluttershy sighs as she shakes her head. “But there was no way you could ever actually cast spells.”
Hammer frowns. “Then why send him to learn about it?!”
Arc looks to Cloud Sweeper. “Because he was passionate about it?”
“Right. It’s all he ever talked about growing up.”
Strawberry Shy pats her son’s head. “And we knew he had to follow his dreams. Even if they couldn’t be realized.”
Scootaloo frowns. “Not sure what to say about that.”
“Well, I have one more thing to say.”
Zephyr walks over to Rainbow Dash and takes her hoof.
“Rainbow… I’ve always wanted to become something more than I am. Make you think I’m special.”
“But you are, Zephyr. You’re my friend.”
“I wanted to be more than that though. You and I… we…”
Rainbow Dash bows her head. “I need to tell you something. Now I know I should have said this a while back, but…”
“You don’t want to get married?”
“…no.”
“I understand.”
“You do?”
Zephyr nods. “Yes.”
“It isn’t because I don’t like you, or anything. But… I’ve kinda been sorta seeing somepony else.
“So have I.”
Fluttershy gasps. “Zephyr?”
Cloud Sweeper raises an eyebrow. “Son?”
“It’s one of Fluttershy’s old friends from when we were foals. Her name’s Tree Hugger. We’re kinda the same, you know?”
Rainbow Dash appears confused. “How so?”
“She’s just really laid back. Takes things one day at a time. Doesn’t stress over anything that I’ve ever seen.”
Strawberry Shy smiles. “So you’re in love with her?”
“Yeah. Tree Hugger’s amazing!”
Fluttershy giggles. “Well, I hope you two will be very happy together. She’s very nice, after all. But tell me, how is Tree Hugger doing these days?”
Cloud Sweeper nods. “Yes, we haven’t seen her in years.”
“I… don’t really know.”
Rainbow Dash frowns. “But aren’t you dating?”
“Not… exactly.”
Arc sighs. “Can you elaborate?”
“Well… I volunteered with her down at the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures.”
Scootaloo raises an eyebrow. “So you’re just friends?”
“That’s not really accurate either.”
Hammer glares at him. “Get to the point! Are you with her or not?!”
Zephyr groans. “Fine. I haven’t actually had the courage to talk to her yet.”
Rainbow Dash narrows her eyes. “Really?”
“Yeah. But she’s just so amazing that I’m trying to work up the courage to do so any day now!”
He turns to Rainbow Dash and smiles.
“Sorry about all of this. I know just how much you wanted us to be a thing.”
Rainbow Dash gasps. “But, I…!”
Hammer clears her throat loudly. “Do you have something to tell your pal, blue?”
“Yeah. Um… I hope you and Tree Hugger will be really happy together. And I wish you two the best of luck.”
Zephyr appears relieved. “Thanks for understanding, Rainbow! I thought you’d be really mad though.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well… since we’ve been so close all these years. That and you’ve never made any secret about you wanting us to be together.”
Fluttershy rolls her eyes. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash will find a way to get over it.”
Hammer gives a thumbs up. “Yeah! Blue’s a tough one, after all.”
Scootaloo nods. “Right. And she has us too.”
Zephyr sighs and turns to his parents. “Well… sorry about all this. Guess I must be a real disappointment to you both.”
Cloud Sweeper shakes his head. “Not at all, son.”
Strawberry Shy offers her son a smiles. “We’re sure you did your best and will find your place in this world eventually.”
“I’ll try to.”
Fluttershy nods approvingly. “You can do it, Zephyr. We all believe in you.”
“You mean I could ask Tree Hugger out?”
Hammer scoffs. “Might wanna start with a job first.”
Rainbow Dash chuckles nervously. “Kinda hard to ask somepony out with no money, I suppose.”
Arc shakes his head. “Not necessarily.”
Zephyr turns to him. “Sir?”
“Who says the first date needs to be a date. You could try just going on a walk together.”
Scootaloo frowns. “A walk?”
“Sure. It’s a great way to talk to someone. If the conversation slows, the scenery is ever changing. Use that to your advantage.”
“I’ll give it a shot.”
He turns to Fluttershy.
“Take care of mom and dad for me.”
“I will.”
Hugging both his parents, Zephyr heads for the door. As it closes behind him Rainbow Dash breathes a sigh of relief.
“Sure glad that’s over.”
Cloud Sweeper shakes his head. “Oh, it isn’t.”
“Huh?”
Strawberry Shy nods. “He’s right, dear. After all, you still need to talk to your own parents about your plans.”
Fluttershy appears hopeful. “And preferably soon.”
Hammer shrugs. “Why not right now?”
“Because they’re probably both at the Rainbow Factory working hard.”
Arc sighs. “Maybe you shouldn’t interrupt them then.”
Scootaloo looks to Rainbow Dash. “I suppose not. But at the same time you can’t keep pushing this off.”
Arc nods. “Right. They’re going to ask pretty quick how come Zephyr isn’t coming around anymore.”
“I could just say he found a job out of town.”
Cloud Sweeper frowns. “Yes, but that’s still just putting it off.”
Strawberry Shy offers a warm smile as she speaks. “Would you like us to be there?”
“That would really help, yeah!”
Cloud Sweeper puts a hoof to his chin thoughtfully. “We should be getting out of here tomorrow. How about we invite you and your parents over for supper?”
Strawberry Shy looks to Arc. “You too, of course.”
“I’ll be there.”