The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Preface - Volume 13 - The Emissary

In our previous volume, Arc, Ember, Sereb and the Hammers head for Redemption Village to ask Mythic Honor to make a faceplate for Eidolon’s Ward. Arriving, they are told that to work with the Hydra Scales that compose the armor requires a magic forge. The only existing one being in Tartarus at the old hideout. Leaving the Hammers in the village, the group reenters Tartarus and heads for the hideout. After shrinking the magic forge down they leave the base only to find King Malevolence waiting for them. Arc assures him that Auriel is doing well in her new home and promises to bring her back for a visit soon. Returning to the village, Arc sets up the forge to allow the Hammers and Mythic Honor to get to work. Heading for the Inn for a rest, Arc begins hearing things that no one else can! Returning to the forge later, Arc picks up his reforged helmet. Donning it, he sees visages of something he cannot identify!

A few days later Arc and Ember visit Carousel Boutique to pick up an order. Rarity hides herself away in the back, afraid to face him after her recent lewd actions. Arc speaks to her privately to console her, as well as confess to her about reading her diary and knowing her secret. Rarity gives Arc a special mask to wear under his helmet. As he tries it on, he again sees something that isn’t there! Leaving the shop, the pair head to Sugar Cube Corner to see Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash and Arc quickly mend their fences, but Pinkie runs upstairs! Following her to her room Arc finds her lying sadly on her bed. She confesses her feelings for him, but Arc is still grieving Cherry’s death.

Arc, Ember, Sereb and his squad head for Princess Celestia’s room. Sunburst powers up the S.P.E.A.R. and transports them all to Earth. Sadly, something goes wrong during the transformation process and Ember arrives as a dog. Arc invites everyone into his house and gives them some clothes. Sereb uses his magic to properly turn Ember into a human. They order pizza and eat as Arc explains the reason for their mission… the eventual rescue of Princess Celestia! Leading the group to the basement, Arc shows them their living quarters before taking Ember upstairs. She is a bit nervous being away from their world for the first time.

The next morning Ember wakes up and finds Arc downstairs reading. He tells her of his original dream of being a Private Investigator, and of his studies to become one. The others join them, and the groups heads to Shelly’s Kitchen for breakfast. After they order their food the town sheriff, Marshal Raynor arrives for an order to go. Arc greets the old family friend, as some rather shady looking characters enter. Raynor calls them Snake and Jackal. Raynor tells Lily to head to the back room. She does so as Arc and his friends join the Marshal. Intimidating them with sheer numbers, the gang members leave the diner empty handed. Raynor confesses that most of his power has been stripped by the feds as far as the Shards go. However they appear unwilling to act against the gang! Arc and company say their goodbyes and head out the door. The gang head back to their base. They are met by their leader as they return. He overhears of their trip to Shelly’s Kitchen and is angered to hear of them harassing that particular business. Calling them both to his office with one of his lieutenants, Stingray, he tells them to ‘be an example’ and leaves the room to allow Stingray to get to work. Calling a meeting of their gang, he announces a zero-tolerance policy for putting personal needs ahead of the gang’s goal. Jackal and Snake are dragged out beaten and bruised to show the membership the consequences of such actions.

Meanwhile, Arc takes everyone to the mall for new clothes. They pick out new wardrobes and head for home with their purchases. Arc sets up a computer in the basement and shows Viktor how to use it. He learns quickly as Arc shows the others how to do laundry. He takes the others upstairs to show them the TV and the news channels. Ember and Arc proceed to the kitchen to make lunch together. They eat in front of the television together as Arc lays out his plans to disrupt the Shard’s activities by taking back their protection money. Wondering if his magic works, Arc proceeds to pick up Ember and his squad with telekinesis. Later Ember helps Arc construct a makeshift armor rack in his room. They put each piece of Eidolon’s Ward on the rack. As Arc puts the chest plate up, he quickly turns away. Ember does her best to console him as she looks at the armor. Questioning the armor’s now red crystal in the center of the chest, Eidolon’s Ward suddenly comes to life! Ember calls forth her spear and knocks the armor to the floor! It quickly reassembles itself and flees into a corner. Arc attempts to communicate with it. Asking if it wants to be put on, Eidolon’s Ward nods. Arc slowly does so. As he puts on the helmet, the visages return!

Arc reaches out for something Ember can’t see as she pulls his helmet off. He approaches her and takes it back, saying he has to know! Arc puts the helmet back on and soon loses consciousness. Entering what appears to be some kind of dream, he meets the creature from the visages! Proving their identity, Arc grabs Cherry and holds her close! Returning to the waking world, Arc reveals to the others that Eidolon’s Ward now holds Cherry’s soul! Entering Arc’s head, Cherry is able to see the world through his eyes. The pair head for the store to shop for groceries. As they finish shopping, they see Snake and Jackal accosting an employee as they attempt to steal supplies. Arc ducks behind some boxes, calls forth his armor and magic cloak, and approaches the gang members. They attack, but he is able to turn them away without laying a hand on them.

Arc and Ember head home to find one very angry Ember waiting for them. She points at the television screen to him on the news. They prepare supper and sit down to a meal of vegetarian pitas. As they eat, Arc tells them more about Earth food and cultures. After supper they watch the news together as a new show comes on featuring an anchor named Guy Smiley. He introduces a guest… the leader of the Shards! The boss as he is called, informs the audience of his gang’s intentions and apologizes for their behavior at the store earlier that day. The next morning Arc and company eat breakfast at Shelly’s Kitchen. As they eat a well-dressed man with two strong looking bodyguards walks in and approaches the counter. Arc walks over to him and addresses him as “Frankie”. He apologizes to Shelly and Lily and returns the protection money Snake and Jackal had taken from them. Before leaving he asks Arc to join his organization, to which he resoundly refuses. After breakfast, they head downtown to the town’s shopping district. Ember stages a diversion as Snake and Jackal try and change their car’s flat tire. As they are distracted, Arc approaches the trunk cloaked and pulls the money out of the bag. Returning to the Jeep, everyone meets up and head for home.

Arc, with Cherry in his armor, heads for the Police Station. Entering the building, he asks to see the Marshal. Being escorted back, he hands over the protection money to Raynor, who takes meeting him quite well! Returning home, Arc and Cherry have some alone time to catch up. Arc confesses the princesses’ intentions for him to lead the nation permanently if he was unable to save them. He also tells her of his plans at the time to make her his queen had that happened. Cherry sadly tells Arc to find someone else, as she can no longer marry him.

Arc spends some time teaching his squad to drive. They return from a driving session, and return to their duties. A call comes over the police scanner of the Shards robbing a warehouse some distance away. Arc, Ember and Sereb rush there in Arc’s Jeep. Parking some distance away, they head for the warehouse. Ember goes in first and hides as Arc enters and reveals himself to the group. Stingray orders her boys to take Arc down. He easily stops them, as she comes after Arc himself. Not wanting to fight, Arc tries to reason with her, but earns himself quite a bit of pain from her blows! As the police sirens approach, Stingray jumps in the truck but cannot find the keys. She orders her boys to make a run for it as she jumps out a back window. Ember and Sereb help Arc up and cloak. They leave the warehouse and head back home. Heading to the bathroom with severely bruised ribs, Cherry talks to Arc from a shelf as he bathes. Stingray returns to Frank to report her failure and report the appearance of the stranger.

They next morning the group eats breakfast around Arc’s kitchen table. A call comes over the police scanner about an apartment complex fire! Arc and Ember hurry out the door and drive to the location. Parking and running back to the fire, they approach the Fire Chief and learn that there a still two people trapped inside! Running to the adjoining building, the pair jump to the room and enter the building via a roof hatch. Rushing to the room number, they quickly find a man and child. Grabbing them, they retrace their steps. However, the floor back to the hatch gives out and collapses to the inferno below! Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger jumps to the rooftop from another building across the street, rushes inside, leads Arc and Ember to the laundry room and down a chute to the basement. Showing them out through the storm drains, they arrive back at the street. Passing the two victims up to the fire fighters, Arc in interviewed by Minerva Moore, the local reporter. They watch her report on the news later that night. As Guy Smiley’s show comes on, he criticizes Arc’s methods and intentions.

Arc and Xenos drive around town placing sigils so Arc can deploy more readily in the future. As they drive, Arc tells Xenos he knows about him leaving the base at night. Xenos confesses to sneaking over to the Little Hooves Orphanage at night to check on Coco Pommel. They end the day at Arc’s old family church. Thinking it is being robbed, Arc dons his armor and approaches a suspicious van parked at the entrance. He finds the pastor along with two other men unloading supplies. After helping them, he Blinks up onto the roof to place a sigil.

Returning to Canterlot Castle, Arc informs the princesses of the trouble in his hometown. Luna tells him of an upcoming mission to Griffonstone. He immediately volunteers! He reveals Cherry’s soul in his armor. Sunburst wishes to study her, but the princesses leave the decision to Cherry. She declines, as it would mean being apart from Arc. They return to Light’s Hope. Arc tells Raven and Flash Sentry about the mission to Griffonstone. He gives them permission to board the ship when it arrives. Flash Sentry hurries away to have his coat dyed white.

Arc proceed to his squad’s quarters, and orders them to undergo psychological evaluations. Retrieving Derpy and Dinky from the orphanage, he takes them to Cherry Hill Ranch to see Ruby. Revealing Cherry to her sister brings her great joy! They spend the day at the ranch cooking and enjoying the time together.

However, even now more questions than ever swirl around them. Will the Mane 6 be able to move past this? Will Pinkie ever get what she wants from Arc? Who is hindering Marshal Raynor’s ability to protect Angel Grove? Will Snake and Jackal’s luck EVER change? Is Cherry here to stay? What does Guy Smiley have against Arc’s actions? Who is the mysterious stranger that helped Arc and Ember out of the burning building? How will the new mission to the Griffon Kingdom go?!

Time will tell. Sooner or later… time will tell.