Knocking on the familiar door, Arc waits. A few moments later Auriel opens it. Smiling, she beckons him to enter. Closing the door behind him she turns to the bed.
“He’s here, mother.”
Maria looks up from her papers and nods politely as she sits up slowly. Arc nods approvingly.
“Looks like you’re getting stronger.”
“I am, yes.”
Auriel grins. “Strong enough to go for a walk as well.”
“It gave me a chance to see my daughter’s lab as well.”
Auriel blushes slightly as she looks at the floor. “I’m sure it’s not quite what you’re used to, mother.”
“It was very well stocked.”
She leans over and opens the nightstand. Removing a small plastic case she holds it out to Arc.
“This is the fruit of our labors.”
Arc accepts the case, confused. “What is it?”
Auriel taps it with a finger. “A syringe with a compound that should return Bloodletter to normal.”
Arc frowns. “I thought you were working on Shelly’s case.”
Maria nods. “When you have two tasks, one easy and the other nearly impossible, it’s wise to start with what is simple.”
“Mother made this in only an hour.”
Arc sighs as he puts it in his ring. “Then I’ll have to come up with some way to get in to see Bloodletter again. But are you really saying that Shelly’s situation is hopeless?”
Maria shakes her head. “No, Arc. I said that it was ‘nearly impossible’.”
“What do we have to do to make it less impossible?”
“Mother and I have been working on that.”
“Indeed. There is much data to go through. We’ve really only scratched the surface though.”
Arc grits his teeth. “Well, Shelly doesn’t have a lot of time!”
Auriel nods soberly. “We’re working as fast as we can, Arc.”
Maria sighs. “That we are. But you should accept the fact that we may not be able to do anything due to time restraints.”
“However that doesn’t meant that we won’t do our best.”
Arc groans as he sits down in a nearby chair. “I know you will, Auriel. But I also know your mother is still hiding things.”
“Not technically true. The deal was that if you got me the data from Rieper that I would tell you everything I knew about The Organization.”
“But you haven’t.”
“Oh, but I have.”
“What?!”
“Every question you’ve asked thus far has been answered. Has it not?”
There is a tense silence as Arc stares Maria down. Frowning, he eventually breaks it.
“Yes.”
Maria smiles. “What else did you want to know?”
“At the moment all I want to do is help Shelly. So I need help in doing that.”
Maria gestures to a massive stack of papers next to her bed. “And that’s what we were doing before you came in.”
Auriel holds up her own stack of papers. “It is a slow process, admittedly.”
Arc stands. “Very well. I’ll let you get back to it then.”
Auriel turns to him. “Do you need any help?”
Arc shakes his head. “I think my squad and I can handle sneaking back into the hospital.”
Maria looks to Arc. “That I believe, yes. However I think you’re forgetting one small detail.”
“What’s that?”
“Who’s going to administer the treatment?”
Auriel smiles nervously. “I don’t believe you or they know how to properly give an injection though.”
“That’s true, I suppose. But I was going to ask Rose to...”
“She already went back to the Crystal Empire to resume her work.”
“Really?”
Auriel nods. “Yes. But I’d be willing to come.”
Maria nods. “I’ve already taught her how to find a vein to use as well as proper technique.”
Auriel appears hopeful. “So can I come?”
Arc shrugs. “If you want to, sure. But what about your mother?”
“I’ll be fine on my own. That and most of my work involves sitting around anyways.”
Auriel grabs Arc’s hand and hurries toward the door. “Goodbye, mother!”
Maria waves after her. “Have fun!”
As the door closes behind them Maria smiles and goes back to her papers.
“Have fun indeed.”
Meanwhile, Arc and Auriel walk down the corridor together. Latching onto his arm Auriel smiles.
“This is wonderful!”
Arc chuckles. “Giving someone a shot?”
“Spending time with you, silly!”
“That’ll be nice.”
Auriel nods as she rests her head on his shoulder. “We haven’t had much time for that since our date.”
Arc sighs. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine, Arc. After all, we understand that you’re trying to do a lot right now.”
“Well, let’s get started on that then.”
“Should you tell Hammer and her sister first?”
“Hammer, yes. But why Mio?”
“Doesn’t she have a crush on you, or something?”
Arc shakes his head. “Not anymore.”
“Oh?”
“I finally told her who the Hero really is.”
Auriel grimaces. “Was she... mad?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t go back there for a bit.”
Arc shakes his head. “No, I need to say something. After all, I’m trying to show her I’m not what she thinks I am.”
Auriel smiles. “Then do what you must.”
Arriving at his room Arc turns to Auriel.
“I’ll try to be brief.”
Auriel nods as she steps aside. “Take your time.”
Knocking lightly, he waits patiently. A few moments later Hammer answers.
“Welcome back, handsome.”
“Hey, Hammer. Auriel and I are heading back to Earth to take care of Bloodletter.”
“You are?!”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Yeah.”
Hammer sighs. “Gonna put him out of his misery?”
Arc holds up the plastic case. “More along the lines of treat him.”
“Ah! I thought that was a bit out of character for you.”
Auriel tilts her head to one side, confused. “I don’t understand. How could you think anything else, Hammer?”
“It’s a human expression. ‘Taking care of someone’ can sometimes mean taking them OUT!”
“Taking... out?”
Arc speaks up. “She means killing them.”
“Oh! Um... why would Arc...?”
Hammer facepalms. “You are just too innocent sometime, Auriel.”
Mio looks over from the bed and calls out.
“Hammer?”
“Yes?”
“Did I hear the name ‘Auriel’ over there?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Can I meet her?”
Hammer turns to Arc. “Can she?”
Arc shrugs. “It’s up to her.”
Auriel appears confused as she looks to Hammer. “What’s so special about me though?”
“She’s never met a demon before.”
“I see. Well... I suppose I could see her then. If only to sate her curiosity.”
Taking Arc’s hand, they enter the room together. Mio sits up slowly with a blanket wrapped around her. She smiles nervously as they approach. Hammer looks to Auriel as she speaks.
“This here’s my younger sister, Mio. Mio, this is Auriel.”
“H-hello.”
Auriel smiles nervously as she gets closer to Arc. “H-hi.”
Mio looks her over. “My sister told me about you being a... um...”
Hammer finishes her sister’s sentence. “A demon?”
“Right. Is that... correct?”
“Only partially. I’m half demon.”
Mio continues. “Half demon, half...”
“Human.”
“How does that work exactly?”
“My father is a demon while my mother is a human.”
“Is that a normal thing here?”
Hammer glares at her. “Mio!”
“I’m just asking!”
Auriel shakes her head. “No, it’s not. I’m the only one of my kind.”
Arc chimes in. “She was banished from Tartarus helping me. So I took her in.”
“Tartarus?”
Hammer shrugs. “According to the reports, it’s about what you think it is.”
Arc chuckles. “At least it was.”
“My artificial sun made things much more tolerable there.”
Mio gasps. “Artificial sun?!”
Arc nods. “She invented the technology to make the sun on a much smaller scale.”
Hammer gives a ‘thumbs up’. “She’s a smart cookie!”
Arc clears his throat as he look at the time. “Yes, well... we should probably be going. Mio needs her rest and I need to take care of another mission.”
Mio raises an eyebrow. “As the Hero?”
Arc shakes his head. “This one’s a bit more personal.”
Hammer appears suddenly nervous. “Um... Arc?”
“Yes, Hammer?”
“Could I... come too?”
“Wanna visit Earth again?”
“K-kinda. But I’d also like to help you make this right.”
Mio raises an eyebrow. “Hammer?”
“That guy, he’s... he’s like that now because of what I did to him.”
Arc nods soberly. “And now you want to make that right?”
“I don’t want to. I have to.”
“But what about your sister? She probably shouldn’t be alone just yet.”
Auriel raises a hand. “I’ll stay with her.”
Mio giggles nervously. “You... you will?”
“Yes. If that’s okay with you.”
Hammer smirks. “You can trust her, Mio. Arc’s known Auriel here for a long time.”
“She’s always done right by me, that’s for sure.”
“I... suppose it’d be okay then.”
Mio turns to Auriel before continuing.
“But I’d probably bore you with my interest in science and magic.”
“Actually I’d love to hear about it.”
“You would?”
Auriel nods. “Yes.”
Arc chuckles. “Auriel’s a scientist, after all.”
Hammer laughs. “And a darn good one too!”
“Then I think we’ll get along fine.”
Arc looks to Mio. “I’ll bring Hammer back just as soon as I can.”
Hammer grins as she heads for the door with Arc. “Have fun, kids! Oh! Could you please help Mio back to my room later?”
Auriel nods. “Of course.”
She sits down in a chair next to the bed as Arc and Hammer leave the room. She latches onto his arm as they walk.
“I’ve been looking forward to this.”
“Spending time with me?”
Hammer nods. “Yeah. But the whole thing with Bloodletter’s been in the back of my mind for the longest time now.”
“You said before that you were told that the substance you injected into him was temporary.”
“That’s true, yes.”
“So there’s no way you could have known.”
Hammer sighs. “Yeah. But I still feel like crap about it.”
“We’ll see about fixing it then.”
“You got a plan?”
Arc shrugs. “Ultimately we just have to get into his room and inject him.”
“But you and I both know it won’t be that simple.”
“Right. After all, his room’s door is locked at all times and there’s a staff member watching him around the clock.”
Hammer smacks her fists together. “So we bustin’ in?”
“I’d rather do this quietly.”
Hammer raises an eyebrow. “Uh... why?”
“Because he’s in enough trouble as it is without facing additional charges and scrutiny for what would almost certainly appear to be an attempted breakout.”
Hammer shrugs. “I know he’s no saint. But I suppose even that creep doesn’t deserve to get blamed for something that isn’t his fault.”
“Exactly.”
“So where do we go from here?”
“Back to Earth to start the planning phase. However...”
“Something wrong?”
Arc groans. “Not... exactly. I just need to talk to Twilight about something first.”
Hammer grin seductively. “Right. You need to ‘talk’ to her.”
“But I do.”
“And is talk the only thing on your mind?”
“At the moment, yes.”
“Aw... you’re no fun, Arc.”
Arc shrugs. “Just being Honest.”
“Well, how about I head back to Earth and start planning with the others on how to do this?”
“Alright. I’ll be along shortly though.”
Pulling the Rainbow of Light from his ring, Arc channels his magic into it. A portal forms and Hammer walks toward it. Turning back she winks.
“Don’t take too long, handsome.”
As she enters Arc chuckles and shakes his head.
“Hammer... a one track mind.”
Closing the portal he turns and heads down the corridor toward the Audience Chamber. After announcing himself he is escorted inside. As he approaches the throne Twilight flaps her wings and flies over to him happily.
“Hello, Arc. This is a nice surprise.”
She looks suddenly nervous.
“Um... it IS a nice surprise, right?”
“I don’t have any bad news this time, no.”
Twilight breathes a sigh of relief. “Good! I don’t think I could handle another catastrophe today.”
“Did something happen?”
“Not... exactly. It’s just been a hard day.”
Arc points back to the door. “I could come back another day if this is a bad time.”
Twilight shakes her head vehemently. “No, no! Sorry! That came out wrong! Please, tell me what’s on your mind!”
“We should probably speak in private though.”
“Alright. This way.”
Gesturing to the office with a hoof, she flies over to it and opens the door for Arc. Entering, he turns back as she closes it behind them. Luna sits at the desk going over paperwork. She stands as he looks over.
“Hello, Luna.”
Luna smiles as she walks over. “Good day. I hope everything is well.”
“Mostly, yes. I just came here to talk privately with Twilight.”
Twilight smiles sheepishly. “Sorry for interrupting your work.”
Luna heads for the door. “I see. Then I suppose I should make my exit.”
Arc steps toward her. “Actually, now that I think of it, I could use your advice on this as well, Luna.”
“Very well. As long as you’re alright with me hearing whatever it is you have to say to Twilight.”
“It’s alright with me. After all, we’re friends now.”
Luna smiles as the mare before her continues hovering. “That we are, yes.”
Arc turns to Twilight. “Looks like you’re getting pretty good at flying.”
Twilight giggles. “I’ve been practicing more lately.”
“Well, it shows.”
“Mostly inside though.”
“For security purposes?”
Twilight groans. “Because flying outside is a LOT harder than I thought it would be.”
“Why’s that?”
“Wind mostly.”
“Ah!”
“Rainbow Dash says it’s just something I need to get used to as a flier. Expecting the unexpected, that is.”
Luna nods. “It is to be expected though. Being born with wings is much different than growing them later in life as Celestia and I did.”
“Learning as a child versus as an adult.”
Twilight sighs as she lands, panting. “Right.”
“Well, I know you can do it.”
“I’ll certainly give it my best shot. However I doubt you came here to talk about my flying, Arc.”
“Yes, well... we should probably sit down first.”
“Alright.”
Heading over to the nearby couches the pair sit next to each other as Luna takes a place across from them. Arc turns to Twilight as he speaks.
“It’s about something that came up during my date with Applejack.”
Twilight raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“We talked about getting everyone together for a bit of a... a gathering.”
“A party?”
“Sort of. You see... ah... we just wanted to get everyone together to share a meal and have a talk.”
“To get to know one another better?”
Arc nods. “That and see how everyone acts when put together for an extended period of time.”
“When you say everyone you mean all of your future wives, correct?”
“Right.”
“I think it sounds like a wonderful idea, Arc. Did you want me to organize something?”
“Not exactly. Frankly the biggest problem we could think of was where to have it. At the time Ponyville was still in ruins, so that was out along with Light’s Hope.”
“But...?”
“Now that reconstruction is over I’d like to move forward with this.”
“Very well. I’ll inform the others as soon as you have a date, time, and exact location.”
Arc sighs. “That’s still an issue. And the reason I came to see you.”
“Oh?”
“Back on Earth, Applejack came up with the idea of using my Sanctuary for the gathering’s location. Her idea was that I could make it anything I wanted, as I have full control over my own... domain.”
Luna nods approvingly. “A prudent one, yes.”
“She was right about that. You could make the setting anything, anywhere, and at any time. That includes time of day, weather, and even the temperature.”
Arc smiles. “It sounds like the perfect venue.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m not sure I can maintain it with that many individuals in it.”
“Ah! Now I see your meaning.”
“Do you know what problems might arise from such a thing, Luna?”
Luna puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “The number of individuals inside a realm doesn’t actually affect its stability.”
Twilight appears nervous. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, Twilight. Many centuries ago, during a remodeling of part of the Castle of the Two Sisters as it’s known today, Celestia and I realize that due to the renovation we no longer had a place for proper meetings.”
“Work being done on the Throne Room?”
Luna nods. “In addition to the Conference Room and any other room with tables and chairs.”
Arc puts a hand to his chin. “So any place you could have meetings, huh?”
“Exactly. I suggested moving things outside. However that didn’t work out, as every time there was a breeze everypony’s paper would go flying.”
Twilight giggles. “So what did you two do?”
“Celestia came up with the idea of using what she calls the ‘Celestial Realm’ to hold meetings and audiences at the time. She created an exact copy of either the Throne Room or Conference Room as was needed at the time.”
Arc nods. “Any ill effects?”
Luna shakes her head. “Not really, no. The only issue was that it did use more energy to make changes to it as were needed. However neither she nor anypony else was in no danger during that time.”
Twilight looks to Luna, hopeful. “So what do you think of the idea?”
“That it is completely plausible, yes. The only warning I would like to pass on is that Arc should ready it ahead of time if at all possible.”
Arc nods. “For testing purposes?”
“That and to save your energy for the actual event that will be held there. You wouldn’t want to go through it yawning I imagine.”
“I suppose not.”
“Celestia would always make her realm ready the night before so she could get a good night’s sleep before that matter at hoof.”
Twilight nods. “Doing things ahead of time is always good advice though.”
Luna shrugs. “Moreso in this instance.”
“Any other advice you could give us, Luna?”
“Since Arc is relatively new to this particular school of magic, by comparison naturally, I recommend that he not try to push himself with anything too extreme.”
“I’ll do my best to keep the setting simple then.”
“That would be best, yes.”
Twilight claps her hooves together. “Now all we have to do is figure out what setting would be best.”
Arc nods. “It should be somewhere we’re all comfortable.”
“So something familiar. Ponyville would make the most sense then.”
Luna clears her throat loudly. “And the other... females?”
Twilight appears confused. “Luna?”
“Lieutenant Hammer, Princess Auriel, and Dragon Lord Ember. Would they be most comfortable there as well?”
Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “They probably would if the gathering was on the grounds of Light’s Hope.”
Twilight nods. “It’s be more private too.”
Luna smiles at her. “Private, Twilight?”
“Well... I guess that wouldn’t matter. After all we wouldn’t actually be at the real base.”
Arc grins. “And it has that nice field behind it.”
Twilight shivers. “But isn’t it a bit cold for that, Arc?”
Luna shakes her head. “Again, you forget the power of Realm Magic, Twilight. It can be any temperature or weather Arc desires.”
Arc shrugs. “I’ve never actually tried changing the weather.”
Twilight grins. “It would certainly be an interesting sight to see.”
“Most likely, yes. However might I remind you that you would be there as a potential future spouse verses a scientific observer, Twilight.”
“Can’t I be both?”
Luna facehoofs. “You really do have a one track mind.”
Arc chuckles. “As long as you enjoy yourself go ahead, Twilight.”
“Thanks. Um... should I run this idea by the others or start trying to nail down a date?”
“Probably the first thing. If they don’t like the idea there’s no point in taking it further.”
“While I’m guessing they’ll be thrilled, I do believe you’re right, Arc.”
“We can talk more about it later. Right now I need to head back to Earth to take care of something.”
Luna raises an eyebrow. “Oh? Is something wrong?”
“Kinda. Auriel’s mother completed a cure for that beast man we fought some time ago.”
Twilight gasps. “Ah! Best to take care of that one right away!”
Arc stands. “My thoughts exactly.”
Embracing Twilight, Arc turns to Luna.
“Thanks for the advice on this.”
“It was my pleasure. Um... but might I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“How is Rainbow Dash doing?”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Fine as far as I know. Why do you ask?”
“She seemed a bit... out of sorts the last time I saw her.”
Twilight shrugs. “Perhaps stress from moving back to Ponyville?”
Luna nods. “That could be it, yes.”
Arc smiles nervously. “She’s a bit... um... easily excited. Right Twilight?”
“Oh yes. But it probably just stems from her being the Element of Loyalty.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
Arc heads for the door. “Well, I’ll see you two later.”
Twilight and Luna wave after him as Arc leaves the room. Luna sighs inwardly as she muses to herself.
“It seems to be much more than that though. She was most unhappy with me for some reason. But I suppose there’s nothing more to be done about it at the moment.”