That night's words and that white space had followed him whenever he closed his eyes. His destiny was his own and had always been.
"Arctus, something on your mind?"
"Have you ever shot to the heavens and fallen down from it?"
Savus sighed, "can't say I have, but if I did, I imagine it'd be on my mind a lot, too."
"I keep wondering what the difference is between myself and the Eight. Why they stayed in the heavens and I fell," the two of them walked through the Everfree Forest, Arctus' forest.
Savus leaned his greatsword from his right shoulder to his left, his armor clanking quietly as they strided, "have you considered that maybe there is none? Maybe that's just their domain."
"That's more to think about," the Master Scout found himself quietly and slowly whirling his spear in his right hand.
"You're welcome."
"How's Ponyville treating you? Still work for Applejack?"
"I do, chased off a bunch of timberwolves a week ago. They kept making me apple desert after apple desert for days."
"You ever think if retiring was the right decision?" Arctus was assaulting him with question after question.
He shook his head, looking to the grassy floor, "every day. Anytime I know you, the scouts, the princesses are discussing something I just regret it even more."
The Woodsmaster's laugh filled the air while they were on their return journey, to come out somewhere near the outskirts of Ponyville, still a woodsy area.
"You're lucky, you can retire."
"Princess Celestia would probably let you if you asked, she's your wife after all," he retorted, "or is this a Scout's honor code still?"
"Our work is never done."
Savus smiled, "considering I haven't seen an evil in Equestria, I'd say-," Savus stopped moving the same time Arctus did, "you smell that?"
"I do, you know what it is?"
"It's very faint, but that smells like a changeling's slime to me."
Arctus remembered hearing about the entire wedding event when he returned. He breathed in, "good thing they can't pose as us."
"They haven't gotten our biology right yet, but they sure could try."
The two warriors exited the forest, entering into some brush with their weapons in a more serious grip.
"-sounds like it's too late for that too."
Arctus threw up a hand, stopping Savus in his tracks and motioned for him to stay put. The Master Scout left the clanky general where he halted him and zipped ahead in silence.
"So, what should we do?" That was a new voice.
"Yeah, Starlight, what do we gonna do?" And that was a new one as well, but told him the acquaintance up ahead.
Arctus zipped up a rock and peered over it to see what was undoubtedly a changeling, Starlight Glimmer, and some other pony that could very well be a changeling also.
The Master Scout readied his spear
"I-I don't know!" He leapt at Starlight's wording, concerned she was being coerced or a changeling herself. His spear came pointed down at the one he knew was a changeling but it teleported in a flash of sky blue light as he landed.
"Ahhhh, haa, ahhhh!" The new unicorn present was wrapped in a soundproof bubble.
"Now I know it's a talented unicorn doing that," he looked to Starlight, "so you're real. Why did you teleport it," he pointed his spear over to the changeling, "I would have easily eliminated it."
"Ar-Arctus! Thank Celestia you're here! We have a fighting chance!" Starlight shouted.
Arctus could see Savus standing behind the same boulder he leapt off, clearly disregarding his order, "explain the changeling."
"He's reformed, you can trust him!"
He nodded to Savus and waved him in and the general heeded, "and Savus!" Starlight beamed, "what about the other Scouts?"
"They could be taken, too, everyone in Equestria could be replaced," the changeling spoke.
"Oh, wait, this is Thorax, he's reformed. He's on the good side," Starlight looked to the bubble to see the new unicorn no longer screaming and let it done again, "and this is Trixie, a friend of mine."
"Who...what are those?"
"Humans from Aeternia. They're gonna be our heroes this time."
Savus inhaled, "what...the fuck is happening?"
"I had the same question."
"The Crystal Empire and all the princesses in Equestria have been taken by Chrysalis!"
Savus looked to the Master Scout, "someone dared to strike on us?" Thorax nodded, "and they took Celestia? All the princesses?" He nodded again, "where is the home of the changelings," he pulled a map from a pouch.
"Damn, always come prepared," Savus commented, "even for just a simple night walk in your forest."
"Hold on, Trixie doesn't understand. How are these two going to save us? They don't look like magic powerhouses to me."
Thorax pointed on the map and Arctus returned it to a pouch.
"Savus, we're heading there immediately. You have almost all your equipment on hand."
Starlight whispered into Trixie's ear, "you mean to tell me he's the Protector of Equestria?!" Trixie pointed a hoof at Arctus.
"Starlight, rally whatever allies you know for certain are with us. Discord or...well yes, Discord. None of them could stop that Ae-Draconequus. Head to their kingdom whenever you're as prepared as you can be."
"Come, Savus, we march."
"Who are you to give us orders?" Trixie questioned.
Savus began to snicker under his helmet.
"Aeternian legal code was copied and turned to Equestrian Legal code. Scout Warfare Code, section one," Arctus stated.
"What does that mean? Starlight?"
"That's a legal code put into place for all of Equestria, subject to every single pony, but especially scouts. It was implemented long ago, but Master Scout Arctus is almost threatening us."
"With what? He protect Equestria," Trxiei stated with the general heartily laughed, looking at Arctus."
"The first section of the legal code states that a Scout may make use of any and all resource and citizen of Equestria for the accomplishment of an assignment or to address a matter of Equestria's defenses, offenses, and/or stability," Arctus verbatimed to the unicorn, "failure to heed a Scout implementing the use of this legal code is punishable by prison or exile at the Scout's discretion."
Starlight nodded, "yep, that's accurate. So if we don't do as he says, he could put us into Canterlot's dungeons or exile us from ever stepping a hoof over Equestrian borders."
The unicorn pouted, "Trixie doesn't not like being coerced."
"Starlight, I'm entrusting that you'll follow us when you're able. Savus, let's get going."
Arctus and Savus stood in front of the hive, the sun now showing clear signs it was the evening. He didn't know where Starlight Glimmer and whoever she could round up were at, but he did know the giant husk in front of him with flammable."
"So...are you just gonna burn it?" Savus started, "it'd be an easy way to kick off a genocide."
He flew a ball of fire from his hand toward the hive and when it crossed the grassy overlook it vanished.
"Are you out of juice? Body has no more mana to pull from?" Savus commented.
He walked physically across the barrier and felt a change in him, being a creature with magic inside of himself, "they're supressing magic here, quite like my spear."
"How can you-," Savus dropped down along with him, "ah, I feel it. Suppose I can't throw daggers into the eyes of ever changeling then, now can I?"
Arctus slowly approached the hive, monitoring it and seeing entrances and exits close and open whenever a changeling needed to exit, "a shifting fortress, no magic."
"I'm not liking our odds."
"I'm not failing, if that's what you're implying."
"How many changelings do you think there are?" Savus posed the question as they started to make our more details at their closer distance.
"Hundreds? Thousands? I'll kill every single one until Chrysalis' head is piked in front of her hive."
Arctus looked to Savus, "friend, I have a request of you."
"Request or order?"
"I want you to be outside the hive, fight to make them open up in large numbers so I can rush in and if I'm not out within an hour, come in and finish."
"Oh? I've never thought I'd see the day a Scout displays inconfidence," Savus noted, "let alone you. If you think it's that serious of an issue, I'll do just that."
Savus knew more what a changeling could do, but this was home turf and that made him nervous, especially if Arctus was making contingency plans.
"And how do you intend to sneak in?"
"I'll be fighting with you, but moving so I'm not surrounded and slaughtering like your specialty is."
"I'll take that as a compliment," he laughed, "you think that unicorn and Discord have a shot at succeeding if we fail?"
"With no magic involved, I doubt it. That's the only ace they have."
A large entrance opened in front and a group of three changelings made their way to them, landing around with their horns flickering with green magic.
"Oh, so all of you can use magic, but we can't? Fuck off with your home advantage," Savus torted, lifting his greatsword.
"We'll give you a chance to surrender, doesn't matter if you do or don't."
Arctus closed the short distance they left and swatted aside a bolt of their magic with his spear, the green vanishing on first contact.
Red blood splayed across the barren dirt quickly enough has he displayed the changeling body in the air. The freshly made corpse hung from the lugs of his spear, "I am Master Scout Arctus. Take me to Chrysalis or I will slay every one of you until she comes to see me herself!" He knew common footsoldiers when he saw them.
The other two changelings present rushed him dow, firing magic just to be dispersed, but Savus took their lives.
The entrance opened up larger and a flood of changelings came down and Arctus broke into a sprint.
"Show them what an Aeternian can do, Arctus!"
He ran fast, sheathing his spear and taking greatsword in hand and swatting any changeling with the gusto to attempt physical combat. Blood painted his face and their magic was waved aside to a different direction. Within seconds he made it into the hive, taking a moment to look about at the numerous changelings present.
"I'm an Equestrian, but I'm no pony," they glared at him as the entrance sealed and pathways within the hive opened and closed at random, "I have no limits."
A blast of green magic came to him, one his spear swiftly dispersed. He noted that he couldn't cast spells, but the properties of his spear still working did give him an idea.
He planted his spear into the first inch of spongey material composing the floor. He let his mana flow to his spear as an extension of himself, blue flame rose around to protect him from the changeling magic shot in effort to put him into a pod.
The icy fire erupted the whole room and quickly caught fire to the soft material that coated everything. It was apparent that the godly magic couldn't be supressed by whatever was causing such here.
In screams and hisses, his opponents fled the room, seeking shelter elsewhere while the blue flame traveled all over the hive, burning away the organic material and leaving stone behind. Arctus couldn't use his mana in any other way, so he had expelled all of it in this one blast, giving true life to his fire.
As he went through entrances and exits, losing himself in the hive, every changeling ran from him, fearful of his power, "you dared to strike against the nation with Arctus, Master Scout, protecting it," he did know he was making his way up at an incredibly slow pace, his fire was burning faster than he way moving.
Savus would no doubt be coming after him soon enough.
He had entered a giant chamber full of twisting paths suspended in a chasm, some kind of unchanging landmark in the burning dungeon. A deafening buzz came from every direction on his sixth step in, he knew when he had stepped into an ambush.
"To stand against me means you've overcome your fear of me. Do all of you know that you'll die within this hour?" Arctus gripped his spear with both hands, exhaling slowly, "or you fear the power above you more than me."
The buzzing continued as changelings flooded into the room in a massive number, his threats hadn't worked as he hoped, but that just meant it was time for fun. Fun like he hadn't had in a very long time.
Changelings landed around him and he dove without hesitation, splitting carapaces open, spewing their blood over their home. Horns were cut off and eyes were dotted in displays of violence. No matter the magic they shot at him, he avoided or swiped it into nothingness at the touch of his spear.
He was a whirlwind of force, of rage, of the glory he was claiming as the drones fell almost effortlessly to any third party who might watch. Arctus was feeling the exhaustion however, he was carrying on and killing numerous changelings, corpses were piling and he was moving to flat and more solid ground to reduce risk of tripping over one of these bodies.
And suddenly, they vanished and buzzed out, beginning to flee. Arctus gave chase, his arms were the only limb tired and just running after them could give his arms respite while his legs worked.
He kept with a horde fleeing through, following through some burnt and unburnt passages, he came to the top of the castle-like colony after a few minutes.
"Wish it was this fucking easy."
And he entered, seeing numerous pods on the roof, he could clearly see his wife, sister-in-law, Twilight and her friends, the Crystal Empire's rulers. He quelled his anger with his tempered warrior spirit.
He could see the changeling that was on Equestria's side, Thorax, trapped in place. Starlight Glimmer stood at the throne, bashing it with a rock.
"Very clev-."
"Eyes on me, asshole!" Arctus roared, spying Savus in a pod.
The general was really getting up there in age, retirement suited him.
"Who dares to inter-," the changeling Queen stamped her hoof, rushing to him just to be met with a metal covered fist across her face.
"Master Scout Arctus. The variable you didn't account for."
She cackled, wiping blood from her jaw, "no, I accounted for you. You're no threat, you have no magic to use here."
His eyes glazed over the changelings in the room, a familiar emotion in his foes eyes, "your drones fear me more than you now. I see it wasn't you who drove them to fight me, but hope of securing a victory," he smiled, "that's a good motivator for a soldier who enters my plateau of blood."
He lifted his spear, "your hive is on fire, my icy blaze is holocausting your domain."
She cackled still, her horn lighting and lifting his body up, "see, you have no magic, you can not stop me from flinging you out of my kingdom."
He called his strength to focus, forcing one of his arms down and to a throwing knife, zipping it haphazardly but accurate enough to pierce a pod.
And the liquid spilled out of view of every creature present, slowly waking the human in stasis.
An arrow shot from one of the holes leading to the throne room, nailing Chrysalis in her neck and dropping Arctus, "you have more than Master Arctus to worry about, Chrysalis!" An orange unicorn leapt out, holding a satchel and lighting a match, lighting a fuse to it.
"Who comes in here next?!"
She threw the satchel, clearly an explosive at the throne. Starlight Glimmer leapt from behind the throne, leaving her hiding spot.
Arctus took the distraction to shove his spear firmly through the back of the changeling Queen's throat, his spear exiting out above her mouth, between her eyes, blood spewed and poured from the exit wound.
"The leader of a militarian nation who leads with fear should not be this weak...or you die. Remember that mistake when you next want to fight the Scouts."
A brown coated pony shot from another hole as the throne erupted, rock blasting everywhere. The ceiling above the pods were obliterated with the swing of Stitch's bar mace, the ponies in stasis fell to the floor, the pods collapsing under the force and the ponies struggling to wake.
"Sunset Shimmer. Strong Stitch. You both make excellent defenders of Equestria," Arctus felt the little mana his body recovered flow unrestictedly. He called his flames to halt through his spear and the blue conflagration disappeared from the outside and inside of the hive.
The Master Scout strided forward, changelings shuffling out of his way while he helped Celestia to her hooves, the other coherent ponies assisted the others, "I will do when necessary," he spied the volcanic glass still hanging from her neck and hugged her tight.
He still had a duty to Equestria to uphold, "changelings, whether you flee now or not, know that the Scouts will hunt you out and-."
"Hold on, Arctus!" Starlight Glimmer interrupted, her eyes sparkling with an idea. The Master Scout held his tongue and called Sunset and Stitch to him, checking them over for injuries to find none.
He'd want to go over how they managed to infiltrate so well. Savus was just starting to come around in his older age.
"Thorax, didn't you say you haven't been hungry since you made a friend?" Starlight began preaching to the changelings.
Arctus ignored, he knew these ponies had a special way of dealing with things he couldn't quite do with his violent soul. He understood, but he lacked the eloquency and the kind of diplomacy they made use of.
"Savus, I won't demand more than your abilities can give. Sorry, friend," Arctus addressed him.
"D-don't apologize...always glad to serve a nation worth serving," he cleared his throat.
"Art, how...how did you manage to save us?" Celestia looked to him while he still held tight to her with an arm.
"I'd like to say it was all me, but Sunset and Stitch were integral parts to the rescue."
He could still hear Starlight going on.
"Remind us to give them both a fitting reward," Luna trotted over, "what of the changelings?"
"Starlight has them handled," Sunset spoke out, "perhaps you need training," she smirked to Arctus.
"We'll talk more about how you two succeeded in this," he looked to both his Scouts, "for now, bask in your new glory."
Arctus deigned to spend more time around the castle and Canterlot after the defeat of the changelings. He sat in the central plaza with Sunset and Strong Stitch with him, "so, the changelings are slowly reforming from the influence of Starlight Glimmer and Thorax."
"Does the guilt of killing ever go away?" Strong Stitch started up.
"For you, no. For me, it was never there to begin with, but I fell like I'm growing a sense of consciousness about it."
Sunset looked to him, "I thought an Aeternian Scout would be void of that, of emotion."
"Well, this one isn't. The drones...just soldiers following around a narcissistic bad leader. How did you two even know that the throne was supressing magic?"
"We met Thorax on our journey there and helped them infiltrate, posing as captives," Strong Stitch proudly spoke, "Starlight Glimmer was able to get in the same way, but Discord couldn't. We figured they'd not fall for that."
"Thorax spilled the beans on why magic was blocked," Sunset explained further, "and your massacre made it incredibly easy to sneak our way into the throne room and lie in wait for the perfect moment. Can we uh...get on with making my weapon now?"
"Of course, you wanted to use the volcano in the Dragon Lands? Tensions have been easing between Equestria and them...so it should definitely be possible though they might attempt to make some weak attacks as intimidation," Arctus answered, "I'll tell Plated Shell to prepare today and we can leave out tomorrow. We've had a week to recuperate after all."
"Then I'm sending you off."
"Good, I wanted to miss Twilight's friendship festival anyways. You have an assignment for me after that."
Arctus smiled, "I read over the history of Griffonstone before I went. I have a few reasons to suspect Arimaspi lives in the Abyssmal Abyss. You're going to go down there, to the deepest depths, and slay him."
"Hold on...why?" Sunset questioned.
"Did you forget in the journal where Arctus claimed his title of Master?" Stitch began, "once you kill Arimaspi, you need to head to a volcano with his blood and body still on your weapon," she recalled the logs of the Master Scout present.
"You don't need to go as far as you retrieve his body, but once you kill him you will dip your weapon to magma a second time. I see an incredible power within you along with your ambition. Master Scout is a title you can gain," Arctus stood from the bench in the plaza.
"Why Arimaspi?" She questioned.
"Sombra is gone, and ever Scout who attains the highest title in Aeternian military must slay a legendary beast, not man. It's in honor of the combat prowess against all creatures the first Scouts commanded when Aeternia had many more wild creatures roaming it."
Sunset stood up in the plaza, "Is it..."
"It's not going to be a fair fight, I don't know anything about his capabilities that living in the dark may have granted him. Be prepared to take risk and settle with the possibility of dying, life's impermance."
Sunset was still grappling the idea he put in her head, "you think I could be an equal to you?"
Pride, a foundation of Arctus, and it was often too much to swallow. He did manage one response.
"Maybe."
And left the plaza to seek out Plated Shell in his workshop.