Chapter 12 - Back to It
The next morning Arc and Rose walk down a corridor in Canterlot Castle.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to come with you, Arc. I’m not exactly at my best.”
Arc nods. “You’re my friend, Rose. I’m not leaving you behind when you need me.”
“Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For yesterday. I never thought I’d learn so much in a Cafeteria.”
“Helping others worse off than yourself is always good therapy.”
Rose nods. “I agree. They certainly have seen their share of hardships. Admittedly I do feel a bit better about my prospects for the future.”
“I can’t guarantee happiness or anything. But I do try to bring it to others.”
“Then I shall aid you in that for the time being.”
They enter Princess Celestia’s room. Sunburst greets them.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Morning. How are we looking for time, Sunburst?”
“You have a few minutes, sir. I’ll use it to triple check my instruments. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“Good idea.”
Sunburst returns to the machine as Rose turns to Arc.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I have to. But you don’t.”
“I’ll be fine, as I’m not a living creature.”
Cherry sighs. “Rose is right, Arc! This is certainly not your best idea!”
“Not you too, Cherry.”
Cherry sighs. “I understand why you feel the need to save your friend. But the others are fully capable of scouting out the locations themselves.”
Arc nods. “True. But this is something I really have to be there for.”
Sunburst looks up from his console. “The young android may be able to help you on your trip, sir.”
“I can?”
“Yes. If you stand behind her, the inorganic compounds that make up her body will protect you from the turbulence to come.
Arc frowns. “I don’t really want to use Rose as a shield.”
“Please do!”
Arc sighs. “Rose…”
“Traveling in this way is simple for me. Even without the wormhole timing. You said I was free to make my own choices, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes.”
“This is what I want to do!”
“Very well. But only if you’ll be safe as well.”
Sunburst nods. “That she will be, sir. Now then, you should put on your armor and be ready. This window is only a handful of seconds!”
The pair stand in front of the platform patiently. Sunburst does not take his eyes off the readouts.
“When I say go, you have but a few moments to enter the portal.”
Rose nods. “Yes sir.”
“A hug may be in order.”
“Sunburst?”
“I’m suggesting you hold Miss Rose in an embrace as you enter. Her frame will act as a wind break in your arms.”
“Understood.”
He leans forward as Rose puts her arms around his neck. She then wraps her legs around his back Arc smiles as he puts his arms around her.
“Good thing you’re light.”
Rose smiles. “Mother made me perfectly proportioned.”
“Yes, well…”
Sunburst activates the portal. “Get ready…! NOW!!!”
Arc leaps through the swirling portal’s energies. A moment later the pair fly out the other end into Arc’s yard. Opening his eyes Arc sees the wall fast approaching. Using his magic he quickly Blinks them 180 degrees. His back smashes into the wood siding as they fall to the ground together. Rose gets up quickly.
“ARC! Are you alright?!”
Arc does not move. A moment later his squad, Ember, and Sereb rush out the back door. Ember hurries over.
“What happened?!”
“We crash landed! Help me get him inside!”
Xenos and Max put their arms around Arc’s shoulders and help him through the back door. They lay him gently on the couch and remove his helmet. Hugh turns to Xenos.
“Should we call for a doctor?!”
“Maybe. He doesn’t look too good.”
Viktor shudders. “That trip must have been a doozy to hurt the commander like that!”
Max turns to Sereb. “What do you think?”
“He is resting peacefully.”
Rose looks him over. “My sensors aren’t picking up any broken bones. He just hit his head protecting me.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Protecting?”
“The entry into this realm was… turbulent.”
Cherry calls out to them. “I’ll try and help coax Arc into waking up.”
A few moments later Arc’s eyes slowly open. He looks around. A dazed look on his face. Ember looks concerned.
“Arc? Say something!”
“Ugh. That… was something I’d like to never do again.”
Xenos turns to Max. “How do we know he’s okay?”
Max shrugs. “Is there anything we can get you, sir?”
“Got any cupcakes?”
Hugh chuckles. “He’s fine.”
Arc sits up and shakes his head.
“Is Rose okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“What happened? My sensors showed that I was in position to absorb any shock that came our way.”
“I saw the side of the house and took action.”
“What?! But I would have been fine!”
“My brain knows that. But I just instinctively had to protect you.”
Cherry giggles. “I guess even your hard head has its limits.”
“Huh?”
“You broke the house, my dear.”
Arc stands up. “I did?!”
Ember pushes Arc back down onto the couch. “Woah there, Arc! You just stay there and take it easy!”
Max nods. “Yes sir. Let us take a look at the damage.”
Arc frowns. “Fine.”
His squad heads outside, but returns a few minutes later. Sereb looks up to them as they enter.
“How does it look?”
Hugh looks nervous. “Uh… do you still have your earring sir?”
“Of course. Why?”
Viktor points a thumb over his shoulder. “You should probably get ahold of Hard Hat.”
Ember frowns. “Was it that bad?”
Xenos laughs. “I think you might have pushed the house off the foundation a bit, sir.”
“WHAT?!”
Max shakes his head. “Xenos is joking about that part, sir. But there is a sizable hero-shaped indentation in the wall.”
Arc frowns. “Great. I’ll have to call a contractor.”
Cherry sighs. “Look at the bright side. You’re just fine, right?”
Arc puts a hand to his head. “Yeah. The ringing in my ears has stopped at least.”
Sereb looks him over. “You should probably rest.”
“Maybe later. There’re things that need doing.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “What could possibly be so important?!”
Sereb nods. “Yes, Arc. Whatever it is, we can take care of it for you.”
Arc reaches into his pocket and pulls out the paper. “I have a map here of locations where Frank could be.”
Max’s eyes grow wide. “Where did you…?”
“Sunburst got it for me. He said something is interfering with his scrying though.”
Ember frowns. “Is that why it’s taking so long to locate Princess Celestia?”
“Maybe. He originally said it was due to Earth being so big. But I’m sure this interference isn’t helping matters any.”
Hugh puts a hand to his chin. “What kind of interference, sir?”
“It might just be natural. But then again, after I met Lieutenant Mio it’s clear the Shards have access to magic and magic-based technology.”
Max clenches a fist angrily. “You think they are the ones hiding the princess?!”
“Had you asked me that before, I’d have said no. But it makes sense on paper. I don’t know how they would have done this without help though.”
Sereb nods. “Or why.”
Viktor sighs. “That too.”
Xenos looks to Arc nervously. “Sir? Do you suppose your friend wants to conquer this land?”
“Not likely. Frank’s always been driven to achieve his goal. But he wouldn’t go that far. Of that I’m certain.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve been his friend for most of my life. We know how each other thinks.”
Max sighs. “Everyone changes, sir. And not always for the better.”
Ember puts a hand on his shoulder. “We should at least consider the idea, Arc.”
Sereb looks out the window. “It is possible your friend is not missing at all.”
“What are you talking about, Sereb?”
“Perhaps he is merely away preparing the next phase of his plan.”
Cherry sounds angry. “Sereb! That’s Arc’s friend you’re talking about!”
“My apologies. I was only making a logical observation.”
Ember sighs. “He might be right, Arc.”
“I know. But until we have some more proof, I’m still treating this as a rescue operation.”
Sereb nods. “As you wish.”
“In any case, see what you can find out about these locations, Viktor.”
Arc hands over the map. Viktor accepts it respectfully.
“Yes sir.”
Xenos grins. “We’ll get right on it! Just let me get my coat.”
Hugh calls out after him. “Xenos, we can do this from the house.”
“Huh?”
Max nods. “Viktor found this really cool website on the internet. What was it called again?”
“Google Maps. We can get know what’s at a point without actually going there.”
The squad heads to the basement as Xenos mutters indignantly.
“Darn crazy machines… take the fun out of everything.”
Rose frowns as she follows them. “Hey!”
“Sorry.”
Ember walks over to Arc and wraps her arms around his neck. “I missed you.”
“Uh… did I miss anything?”
“Nothing too interesting. I went out to beat up some Shards a few times. Probably scarred them for life too.”
“Oh?”
Ember laughs. “Yeah! I saw them on the street a few days later. Every few seconds they were looking over their shoulders.”
Sereb shakes his head. “I believe you enjoyed trouncing them a bit too much.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t a very fair fight. Six on one.”
“What?!”
Ember steps back and shrugs. “I told them to call their friends, but they didn’t.”
Sereb sighs. “Probably more interesting around here then it was with you, Arc.”
“Yeah. How did the signing ceremony go? Was it as boring as I said it would be?”
Arc frowns. “The treaty is signed and Princess Luna is safely back in Canterlot. But it was far from boring.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Did they bring in entertainment, or something?”
“Kinda. The rebels showed up.”
Sereb growls. “The cowards?!”
“Yup.”
Ember grins. “I assume you sent them packing?”
“Um… not exactly.”
Arc tells them about the two assassination attempts on Princess Luna. Ember frowns.
“That was brazen of them!”
Sereb nods. “It was a good thing you were wearing Miss Cherry’s pendant, Arc.”
Arc holds up his bandaged hand. “Right. But that luck wasn’t so strong during the second attempt.”
Ember takes his hand. “What happened?!”
“I caught the crossbow bolt with my hand.”
Sereb looks the bandaged hand over. “How did it not pass through?”
“I felt the tail of it hit my ring. Otherwise Luna’s face would’ve caught it.”
Ember clenches a fist angrily. “Hopefully whoever did this was caught!”
“Um… yes and no.”
Sereb sighs. “That does not make sense.”
“I know.”
Arc explains his own assailant’s attempt to kill him aboard the Lunar Destiny. Ember appears livid.
“Okay, THEY had better be dead! If not, I’ll fix that!”
Sereb growls. “I will help.”
Arc nods. “Believe me, I kinda agree with you two on that.”
“Good! Let’s do it then!”
“We can’t.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Why not?!”
“They’re the leader of the rebels for starters.”
Sereb bares his teeth. “All the more reason to slay them!”
Ember clenches her fists. “I’m with Sereb on this one! Let’s take ‘em out!”
Arc sighs. “Well, you two remember Lady Ashe from Lord Gestal’s party, right?”
Sereb nods. “Yes. The rebels were trying to kidnap her.”
Ember gasps. “Oh no! Did they get her?!”
“She’s the leader.”
Sereb tilts his head to one side. “The leader of… what now?”
“The rebels.”
There is a long pause. Ember takes Arc’s arm.
“Let’s get you upstairs to bed.”
Sereb sighs. “Indeed. You must’ve hit your head harder than we thought.”
“It’s true. She snuck aboard and tried to kill me.”
Ember humors him. “Did she now?”
Sereb frowns. “I think he means it, Ember.”
Ember turns to Sereb. “You need some rest too apparently. Lady Ashe was the picture of nobility.”
Arc shakes his head. “It’s a front.”
Sereb sighs. “More enemies of Equestria?”
“We parted on… somewhat reasonable terms. Hopefully that’s the end of the matter. But I really doubt it.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “Fine, I believe you. But would you please rest?!”
Sereb looks at the hand again. “Not a bad idea considering your injury.”
“I’m fine!”
Ember grabs him by the collar and pulls him toward the stairs. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Come on.”
Arc sighs. “Fine.”
Ember leads Arc to his room and points to the bed.
“You rest.”
“Ember, I…”
“REST!!!”
Sereb looks to Arc. “I believe Ember is quite serious this time.”
Arc nods as he lies down on the bed. “You think?!”
Sereb turns toward the door. “I should go.”
“Don’t you dare leave me with her!”
Ember turns angrily to Sereb. “Out… NOW!!!”
Sereb looks to Arc as he frantically shakes his head no. Ember lifts a hand.
“I warned you.”
A moment later Sereb looks a bit woozy. He falls to the floor.
“Ember?! What did you do to him?!”
She closes the bedroom door with a sweep of her hand as she grins at him. “Just a little sleep spell. I figured out how to do it.”
Ember walks over to the foot of the bed and climbs up onto the mattress. A wild look in her eyes as she slowly crawls toward Arc on all fours.
“I missed you, Arc. Missed being with you. Sleeping with you. Waking up next you. Having your scent greet me each morning.”
Arc backs into the headboard. “I, uh… missed you too, Ember. But I think it’s time for me to rest now.”
Ember grins wickedly. “I’ll help you relax.”
She inches her way toward him, giggling with a strange grin on her face. As Ember reaches him she puts her hands on his shoulders.
“Arc… it’s time you and I finally…”
Cherry screams. “STOP!”
Ember draws back. Her face suddenly beet red.
“Ch-Cherry! I… I forgot you were…!”
“This isn’t what Arc wants!”
Ember sits back quickly. “I… um… I just…”
“I KNOW what you wanted! I’m dead, not stupid!”
Arc nods. “This isn’t like you Ember. What happened?!”
She turns away. “I… it’s… sorry…”
Arc leans forward and puts a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not angry. Just… talk to me.”
Ember takes a deep breath. “You were gone for… for so long.”
Cherry huffs. “It hasn’t been very long at all!”
“Yes, well… since I met you, we haven’t been apart for more than a night or two at most. The love I feel for you, Arc, it just burst forth when I saw you! Even more so with me in this human form.”
Ember begins to cry.
“It’s just… don’t ever leave me behind again!”
“But that was your idea. You said you could handle it.”
Ember looks up at him as tears stream down her face. “Well I was WRONG! I… I NEED you!”
Arc wraps his arms around her as she continues to cry. He leans back into his pillow.
“I’ll try to keep you with me from now on.”
Ember nods as she presses her face against his chest as Arc holds her close.
“Why don’t we get some rest now?”
Ember sniffles and wiping her eyes. “I… I’d like that.”
“Um… Sereb’s alright, isn’t he?”
“Just sleeping. Sorry.”
“I’m letting you explain it to him when he wakes up.”
Ember nods sadly. Agreed.”
The pair drift off to sleep together. A few hours later the smell of cooking food greets their noses. Arc opens his eyes.
“Something smells good.”
Ember groggily raises her head. “Ugh… what?”
“Hungry?”
“I am actually.”
Arc sits up. “Then let’s get some lunch. Smells like the guys are all over it.”
Sereb raises his head.
“What… happened?”
Ember looks over to him as she stands up with Arc. “Sorry…”
Sereb frowns. “Do not do that again.”
“I won’t. Promise.”
They proceed downstairs. The kitchen is abuzz with activity. Max looks over at them from the stove.
“Hope you two are hungry.”
Hugh nods as he sets the table. “We’ve gotten a lot better at cooking, sir.”
Viktor chuckles. “Had to. Cereal and pizza gets old after a while.”
Xenos looks at Ember. “I’m sure you’re the most hungry amongst us.”
Arc frowns. “What are you talking about, Xenos?”
Sereb enters the Kitchen. “Ember has not been eating regularly since your departure, Arc.”
Ember looks away. “I… I just wasn’t hungry, okay?!”
Arc leads her over to a chair. “Well, let’s see if we can change that.”
They sit down to a hearty meal together. Arc turns to Viktor.
“Any luck down there?”
“Yes, sir. Quite a bit actually.”
Max nods. “We’ve looked over street views from every imaginable angle.”
Hugh takes a drink. “Even shots from the air.”
Xenos frowns. “I’m still trying to understand how they took those pictures. I mean… was it from an airship?”
Arc shakes his head. “No. A satellite.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “A what?”
Cherry giggles. “I can see one in your mind’s eye Arc, and even I don’t get it.”
“Think of it like an airship that flies really, REALLY high.”
Max looks confused. “But if it’s that high, how do they take pictures?”
“Quite a bit of zoom I would imagine.”
Hugh nods. “How high, sir?”
“High enough that they’re in space.”
Ember frowns. “Space?”
Sereb turns his head to one side, confused. “Doesn’t everything take up space?”
Arc shakes his head. “No, no. I mean it’s so high it’s not on the planet anymore.”
Max frowns. “That’s even more confusing, sir.”
“I know. Let’s table it and go back to what you guys found.”
Viktor nods. “Those buildings are all run down and abandoned.”
Hugh counts on his fingers. “There a gas station, a factory, a warehouse, and a… farmhouse. Oddly enough.”
Ember turns to Max. “Any idea which one we should visit first?”
Max shakes his head. “They all look abandoned from the pictures online.”
Cherry calls out. “ Makes sense. Criminals in Equestria also like to hang out as far away from others as possible.”
Arc nods. “Where exactly are these places? We don’t have much in the line of abandoned buildings here in town.”
Viktor looks out the window. “They’re all outside the city limits.”
Xenos frowns. “Yeah. And about as far away from one another as can be.”
Ember sighs. “They might be doing that to throw us off.”
Arc thinks for a moment. “Maybe. But that does make them harder to reinforce should trouble arise.”
Sereb nods. “They must assume they are secure.”
Hugh grins. “We going to change that, sir?”
“That we are. After dark, that is.”
Ember’s necks snaps to Arc. “You better be planning to take me!”
“You, Sereb and I are going to check out that gas station.”
Cherry giggles. “And me!”
Arc chuckles. “Right. And you, Cherry.”
Max turns to Arc. “If I may, why there, sir?”
Ember nods. “Yeah. I mean, what would the Shards be doing with fuel anyways?”
“That’s a very good question. The other places kinda make sense at least.”
“Want me to do a fly-over and see?”
Arc shakes his head. “No. A dragon flying around overhead would make the news.”
“I can fly high!”
Sereb shakes his head. “And be seen for many miles.”
Ember frowns. “Fine.”
Max chuckles. “Sereb’s right, Ember. You need to be stealthy for this.”
Ember mutters indignantly as Arc stands up to clear the table.
“I don’t want you getting hurt. Sereb either.”
Sereb looks to Arc. “And you?”
Arc looks at his hand. “They can’t hurt me. I’m already hurt.”
Ember glares at him. “That’s not funny.”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s feeling a lot better than it did a few days ago though. Now why don’t we all get some rest and prepare for tonight?”
Max stands and heads for the basement steps. “We’ll keep researching that gas station, sir.”
“Alright. Just be sure you boys are well rested for tonight. I’d appreciate if you four watched my back.”
Xenos grins. “Yes sir.”
Arc, Ember and Sereb leave the Kitchen. Hugh looks to Viktor.
“The commander’s really dedicated to saving this human.”
“That he is. But it’s to be expected.”
Xenos looks confused. “What do you mean?”
“From what I’ve seen, when you’re a friend to the commander, you’re a friend for life.”
Max calls out from the steps. “Agreed. He’s already stuck his neck out for us several times. It’s good to be working for someone who can be counted on to do what’s right.”
“Even if it’s not deserved?”
Max chuckles. “Loyalty, Xenos. The commander completely personifies it.”
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If Arc hit the wall enough to dent it, good thing it wasnt a wood build or he wouldve gone through it, especially with Rose acting as a hammer to his nail?
Poor Ember, really needs to sort that Herd/Hoard out.
One thing about finding the sites from the air, all outside thec city. Anyone marked them off, then zoomed out far enough to see if they form a magical sigle or other such pattern surrounding the city, or could do with the placement of one or two extra locations, such as on not marked inside the city?
10297705
He was successful in heavily damaging his wood siding, yes.
Ember is, for lack of a better term, sexually frustrated. She sees someone whom she wants, but cannot have them. This is a nod to a real life event between my wife and I. Several parts in the story were based on real life, such as the events leading up to the Christmas Day - Volume Finale regarding Angel's story, Twilight waving after Arc when he moved out of the library in Volume 1, the stories told at Cherry's funeral, and Ruby's treatment of Arc around the same time off the top of my head.
From the air, and "Street View".
Seems the crew are more human than pony with however long they’ve been staying in Arc’s house.
10298232
It's kinda like when someone moves overseas for an extended period of time. It's not uncommon for them to pick up the habits and accents of the land in which they stayed.
10299177
It seems at the start of things that Arc is just too perfect. He's compassionate, hard working, brave, but still willing to punch someone in the face should they need it. Even willing to (recklessly) put his life on the line in defense of others. But as the story goes on you'll see that his inherent flaws start to shine through. Fits of rage, bad decision making, overworking himself, and even his own past will catch up with him.
Most chapters have a lesson to be learned. Much like the show it's not always obvious. The bottom of the journal entries spells out what I was going for in that chapter, if anything. Later volumes, when there was less need for internal monologuing, the entries were changed to just spelling out the lesson of the chapter though. But in any case...
Enjoy the ride.
10299127 True. On another note, I heard something about people with different accents living together in remote areas like northern Alaska or Antarctica.