Chapter 4 - Unexpected Circumstances
A short time later Arc and Rarity pull back and look into each other’s eyes.
“Arc. Are you sure this is okay? I mean… do you really want to go down this road?”
“Yes. I’m not going to ignore someone I really like just because they’re not on the same societal tier.”
Rarity smiles up at him. “Thank you. I promise I’ll do my very best to make you proud!”
Arc puts his hand under her chin and smiles. “You already have, Rarity. But we should probably get back to the others.”
Rarity nods. “Yes. I’m sure Sweetie Belle and Dinky are wondering what happened to us.”
Arc leads Rarity back toward the festivities. They find Derpy with Sweetie Belle and Dinky. All are happily munching away on snacks. Dinky giggles.
“You finish your conversation, dad?”
“Yes, sweetheart. Did I miss anything?”
Sweetie Belle grins. “Just a few of the games.”
“Games?”
Derpy points a hoof. “They had several rounds of Musical Chairs while you two were gone.”
Dinky holds up a candied apple triumphantly. “I beat out everypony!”
Ember laughs. “That she did!”
“Very good, sweetheart. But remember it’s not about winning or losing, but having fun.”
Sweetie Belle smiles. “Well, winning IS fun!”
Rarity walks over to the white filly. “Arc is right, dear. While I know you like winning as much as anypony else does, it’s just a game.”
Derpy giggles. “From where I stood it looked like everypony enjoyed themselves.”
Ember nods. “Yeah! Especially the orphans!”
Arc appears surprised. “They’re here too?”
Sweetie Belle points a hoof toward the Apple’s stand.
“They’re over at the stand getting snacks.”
“Can we go say hi, dad?!”
“Sure, sweetheart.”
Rarity fidgets nervously. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit, Arc. Right now I need to find the little mare’s room. Do you think you could watch Sweetie Belle for a bit?”
“Sure. Take your time.”
Dinky runs ahead with Sweetie Belle and Derpy as Arc and Ember follow slowly with Frank. Arc turns to his old friend.
“So, what do you think?”
Frank appears confused. “Regarding what?”
“I don’t know. Equestria, the festival, this land’s inhabitants.”
“They’re certainly… spirited.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “That’s an understatement.”
Arc chuckles. “Yes. Pinkie’s easily excited.”
“I was referring more to the one you call Rainbow Dash.”
Arc shrugs. “Well, I suppose she is. Usually only when there’s good reason though.”
“We had a bit of an… argument.”
Ember frowns. “You started it!”
“Uh oh. Where’d she go?”
Ember shrugs. “She and Derpy left to have a little talk before she flew off somewhere.”
Arc sighs. “I’ll have to talk to her later.”
Frank looks away. “Yes. Our conversation did not go as I would have liked.”
“What was it about?”
“Your sex life.”
“Wait, what?!”
Frank puts a hand on Arc’s shoulder. “Listen to me, Arc. I’ve been told you have a certain… affection for Rarity. This isn’t what I would consider proper behavior.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re my friend, and I’ve always done my best to support your decisions. But I can’t accept the idea of you having sex with horses.”
Arc blushes. “Oh… um… I haven’t actually…”
“I do admit they are… rather charming. But being in a relationship with one of them is not something I ever imagined you doing.”
“Frank, I… I think I need to tell you something.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Arc appears pained. “Do you remember when I told you…?”
Dinky calls out over the crowd.
“Dad, come on!”
“We’re coming, sweetheart.”
He turns back to Frank.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Yes. It sounds like your daughter isn’t going to wait.”
Making their way through the crowd, the trio comes to a large group of foals and younglings. Frank raises an eyebrow.
“Pony… birds?”
Ember turns to Frank. “Griffons actually.”
“I haven’t seen any adult griffons around town. Where are their parents?”
Arc frowns. “They… don’t have any.”
“I don’t understand.”
Ember sighs. “They’re orphans.”
“All of them?!”
Arc nods. “Yes.”
“Arc negotiated a treaty with their nation some time back.”
“What kind of treaty?”
Arc turns to Frank. “A peace treaty. Equestria now has economic agreements with their country. And in return we agreed to take their orphans.”
“Forgive me, but would they not be better off in their homeland?”
Ember scoffs. “HA!”
“I don’t recall saying anything funny, Ember.”
Arc looks Frank in the eye. “Think about the worst parts of orphan life. Now imagine it without an orphanage, staff, state funding, or education of any kind.”
Frank appears confused. “What would be left?”
Ember frowns. “Nothing.”
“Right. The Griffon Kingdom just kinda abandoned these younglings to fend for themselves.”
“WHAT?!”
Ember nods. “It’s true.”
“Sadly, yes. The younglings I found were living in a garbage dump.”
Frank looks toward the group. “I’d like to speak to those larger griffons. May I?”
“Sure. I’ll introduce you. Follow me.”
Arc leads Frank over the orphanage staff. Coco Pommels greets him warmly.
“Arc! It’s good to see you well.”
“Thank you, Coco Pommel. I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Frank.”
“How do you do, sir?”
“Very well, thank you.”
Arc turns to his friend. Frank, this is Coco Pommel. She’s the Matron of the orphanage down the way from my base. And this is Natalya along with her brother, Gallus.
He turns to the others as they nod politely.
“Frank wanted to speak to all of you about the Griffon Kingdom.”
Natalya appears confused. “Oh?”
“Yes. Arc was just telling me how your land treats its orphans.”
Gallus scoffs. “Treats them? More like abandons them!”
Natalya nods soberly. “It’s true. Arc was the first one to make any attempt to help any of them.”
Coco Pommel sighs. “The younglings arrived here thin and sick. I had to call the hospital for medical aid.”
Arc gasps. “Everyone okay?!”
“Now, yes. A few of them have psychological disorders from certain… events that happened before they came here.”
Frank frowns. “You mean abuse?”
Gallus grunts. “Yeah. Usually just emotional. But a few of them were, let’s just say… assaulted back then.”
Arc clenches his fist. “I’ll notify Lord Gestal!”
Natalya shakes her head. “While appreciated, nothing would come of it.”
Frank seethes. “What?!”
Gallus sighs. “Even if that pompous oaf did listen to you, sir, he would just pass it off to an officer, who would pass it off to a subordinate, who wouldn’t actually do anything to investigate the matter.”
Natalya nods. “My brother’s right. They’d just make up a false report saying there was no evidence of wrongdoing and submit it.”
Ember brandishes her claws as fireballs form in the center of her palms. “How about I have the dragons burn that country to the ground?!”
Frank frowns. “As heinous as this sounds, that’s probably going a bit too far.”
Ember nods as the fire disappears. “I know. But I just wanted to throw it out there.”
Arc turns to his friend. “Frank’s right, Ember.”
“Fine. But let me know if you change your mind on that.”
Arc turns to Gallus.
“Is there ANYTHING we can do about this?! Anything at all?!”
“You already have, sir. They’re far away from their abusers with a roof over their heads, food in their bellies, enrolled in school, and getting medical and emotional therapy.”
Natalya smiles. “Thanks to you, they’ll never have to be victimized again, sir.”
Frank shakes his head. “Sadly that’s probably all that can be done. We can’t change the past, my friend. But we can help shape their future’s.”
Coco Pommel nods. “Agreed.”
She looks over to the group of foals and younglings gathered around Derpy and Dinky.
“Your daughter’s stories are the highlight of their lives these days.”
Gallus gestures to them with a wave of his talon. “Yeah. And Miss Derpy’s always there to listen when one of them needs to talk outside of their normal therapy sessions.”
Natalya looks to Arc. “Dinky’s doing so much for them. You should be proud, sir.”
“Yes, that I am.”
Coco Pommel smiles. “In any case, why don’t you join her? I’m sure the little ones would love to hear a story. If you have time, that is.”
“Sure. Dinky and I can tell them about our latest adventure.”
Natalya grins. “I wouldn’t mind hearing that story myself.”
Gallus chuckles. “Me too.”
Frank sighs. “I was there, and even I don’t believe it.”
“Follow me and I’ll tell you all about it.”
As they head toward the group Frank turns to Arc.
“Coco Pommel. She reminds me of someone very special back on Earth.”
“Miss Kulara?”
“Yes.”
Arc sighs. “I wonder how she’s doing.”
“Probably just fine.”
Frank looks at the expectant eyes before them.
“I’m more concerned with these little ones before us.”
Ember glares at him. “Concerned how you can exploit them?!”
“No. Their futures.”
Dinky grins as her father sits down next to her.
“Here to say ‘hi’, dad?”
“Miss Pommel thought all of you might like to hear a story.”
Pipsqueak’s eyes light up happily. “That we would, sir!”
Aquamarine nods fervently. “Yes! Tell us the one about the giant plant monster!”
Dinky giggles. “They wanted to know where we went. I hope it was okay to tell them.”
“It’s fine, sweetheart. But how about I start at the beginning?”
Natalya smiles. “That would certainly be prudent, sir.”
Sweetie Belle sits down on the other side of Arc. “Oh boy! I can’t wait to hear the rest of this!”
Arc retells the story of Twilight and Auriel’s experiment along with their meeting with Aurora in the pocket dimension. Dinky helps fill in the gaps with her own recollection regarding Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom’s arrival and their own efforts to help Arc and Auriel. Ginny gasps.
“That’s amazing!”
Geoffrey looks to Arc, wide-eyed. “Were you scared, sir?!”
“Not really. Truth be told I was kinda resigned to my fate at that point.”
Glynda looks to Natalya, confused. “What does that mean?”
“That he was ready to die honorably in battle.”
Gallus frowns. “Military training, sis?”
“Something like that. We’re taught how to only focus on the mission and ignore casualties around us.”
Ember frowns. “That doesn’t sound like a good way to teach soldiers.”
Frank clears his throat. “Perhaps they look at the matter from the larger picture. What use is it to stop and help their comrades if doing so causes the mission to fail?”
Gigi frowns. “Well, I’d still help my friends if they were hurt!”
Dinky nods. “Me too!”
Sweetie Belle sighs. “Yeah! What’s the point of winning if your friends aren’t there to enjoy it with you?”
Rarity pats Sweetie Belle’s head. “Well put, dear. But it looks like it’s almost time for Granny Smith to tell of our town’s founding.”
She points a hoof toward the Town Hall. They turn to see Applejack slowly leading her grandmother toward the stage one slow step at a time. A lone rocking chair is brought forward as the orchestra respectfully plays her up to the stage. Frank turns to Derpy.
“Should we take a seat over there?”
“I think so, yes.”
“Can we sit up front, dad?”
“You can if you want to, sweetheart. After all, it looks like your classmates are doing just that. However, Frank and I should probably take a seat in back.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Uh… why?”
“I don’t want to block anyone’s view.”
Sweetie Belle beams with evident pride. “You are pretty tall, Arc.”
Rarity smiles at him. “That you are. Why don’t we sit at one of the tables?”
“Sounds good.”
Derpy and Dinky head up front with the school foals as Natalya and Gallus follow. Arc, Rarity, Ember, and Frank head for a table off to one side. Rarity turns to Frank.
“This is a nice enough view.”
“Yes, indeed. But I question whether or not we’ll be able to hear.”
Ember points a claw. “They’re called microphones.”
Arc nods. “A good idea. Granny Smith’s voice doesn’t carry too far.”
Twilight walks over with Spike.
“Mind if we join you?”
Arc gestures to a couple empty chairs. “Sure. Have a seat.”
Spike frowns. “Thanks.”
Ember turns to him. “What’s eating you?”
Twilight sighs. “He probably didn’t like being away from all the fun and excitement.”
“Y-yeah. That and I missed the games thanks to that talk.”
“Well, we would have been done sooner if you hadn’t taken that extra-long bathroom break.”
Frank shrugs. “When you gotta go… you gotta go.”
Arc nods. “Agreed. But is anyone else thirsty?”
Ember shrugs. “Kinda.”
Rarity turns to Arc. “I could go for a juice myself. Give me a moment and I’ll fetch all of us something from the Apple’s stand.”
Spike jumps to his feet. “I’ll go with you, Rarity!”
“Thank you, Spike. But…”
“You’ll need help carrying back all those bottles of juice!”
Twilight stands up. “I can go with you too if it would…”
Spike interrupts her. “No, no! You’ve been working really hard lately, Twilight. Just take a load off. Come on, Rarity!”
The baby dragon hurries over to the stand. Rarity turns to the others.
“We won’t be but a few moments.”
She turns and trots after Spike. Ember frowns as she mutters to herself.
“He’s up to something.”
A few minutes later the pair return. Rarity is levitating several bottles of juice as Spike carries one in each claw. They pass out the drinks as Spike hands Arc a bottle.
“Here you go. One fresh apple juice.”
Arc nods as he accepts the bottle. “Thank you, Spike.”
Spike cackles as he sits down. “Don’t mention it!”
Ember looks Spike over as he sits back down. She spots a mischievous glint in his eye as Arc goes to take a drink. She clears her throat loudly.
“Arc?”
He stops, his bottle only inches from his lips. “Yes?”
“Your tie’s a bit crooked.”
Rarity looks over. “She’s right. Let me fix that for you.”
Leaning over, Rarity carefully straightens the tie and looks Arc over. Spike frowns as she openly fawns over him. As Rarity sits back, Ember reaches a hand under the table. With a flick of her wrist she casts a small Telekinesis Spell. Arc’s bottle falls to the ground.
“Whoops.”
Rarity gasps. “Oh dear! Did you spill any on your suit, Arc?!”
“I don’t think so.”
Twilight picks up the now empty bottle with her magic and levitates it over to a nearby recycling bin.
“Oh well. Accidents happen.”
Spike quickly stands. “I’ll run and get you another one.”
“Thanks, Spike.”
He hurries off. Taking another bottle from Apple Bloom’s outstretched hoof, Spike makes his way back toward the table. As he approaches, Rarity puts a hoof on Arc’s hand as everyone around the table laughs at a joke that he cannot hear. Seeing Arc’s fingers close around the white hoof, Spike growls and steps behind a nearby chair. Pulling out a small satchel, he pours its contents into the bottle and gives it a quick shake.
“That should do it.”
Hurrying back to the table, Spike sets the bottle down in front of Arc gingerly.
“There you go.”
“Thanks, Spike. I’ll try to be more careful with this one.”
Spike smiles. “Please do.”
Twilight frowns. “Spike!”
“I mean, the stand was running low on juice! That and we shouldn’t let it go to waste.”
Rarity nods. “He’s right. The Apple family works really hard to make their juice. We shouldn’t be watering the lawn with it.
She picks up the bottle with her magic and pulls it to herself.
“I’ll see to it you don’t drop this one.”
Rarity makes several swooping motions with her hoof as she carefully puts it to Arc’s lips.
“There you are, Arc. Be careful not to dribble.”
Arc chuckles as he takes the bottle in his hand. “Okay, mom. I’ll try to manage.”
Taking a long drink, he downs half the bottle before setting it down.
“Ah! The Apple family makes the best juice!”
Twilight nods happily. “That they do.”
“I remember Applejack telling me a while back that it has to do with…”
Arc suddenly puts a hand to his forehead. Rarity looks concerned.
“Are you alright?!”
“Y-yeah. Just a bit of a headache, that’s all.”
Spike looks hopeful. “Maybe you should lie down, Arc.”
Twilight puts a hoof to Arc’s forehead. “Spike’s right. Your health comes first, after all. Especially with how busy you’ve been lately.”
“Thanks, but it’s passing. I just hope I’m not getting sick, or something.”
Ember smiles at him. “I’d nurse you back to health.”
Arc rolls his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure you would.”
Rarity giggles. “Need some help, Ember?”
“Why not? The more the merrier.”
Spike frowns as Twilight looks Arc over.
“We could run you over to the hospital.”
Arc chuckles as he waves a hand dismissively. “Nah, I’ll be okay. Besides, I don’t want to miss this.”
Frank sighs. “It’s your call, my friend. However…”
Suddenly a robbed figure descends from the sky onto the stage. Applejack instinctively jumps in front of Granny Smith.
“What in tarnation…?!”
Twilight gasps. “Goodness!”
Ember looks over to the stage, confused. “Is this part of the show?”
Spike shrugs. “It wasn’t last year, no.”
Arc chuckles as he picks up his bottle. “It’s probably just Rainbow Dash trying to liven things up a bit.”
Frank frowns. “They appear a bit larger than your friend, Arc.”
Turning, Arc looks at the newcomer as the crowd murmurs, confused. His eyes grow wide as he spots the familiar robe.
“YOU?!”
Arc quickly stands as those assembled part. The figure slowly walks toward Arc’s table and calls out.
“I want everyone to leave.”
Arc does not take his eyes off the figure as he speaks. “All residents get inside the Town Hall and stay there. Ember, help Derpy and Coco Pommel get the young out of here.”
Ember wordlessly nods as she moves to carry out her task. Rarity looks to him, confused.
“What’s going on?”
Frank frowns. “Trouble, miss.”
Arc nods. “Yeah.”
The ponies quickly do as Arc says. A few minutes later the grounds are empty, save for those around Arc’s table. He eyes the figure coolly.
“Never thought I’d see you again.”
“You almost didn’t.”
“How’d you survive?”
The figure seethes. “You were sloppy, murderer.”
Arc clenches a fist but says nothing. Several moments pass before he speaks.
“So… are you here to finish the job?”
“Yes.”
Arc frowns. “Look, I really don’t want to fight you. So I’m going to give you a chance to turn around and fly away.”
“That’s one more chance than you gave my friends.”
“Is that your final answer?”
“It is.”
Arc nods soberly and turns to the others as he calls forth Eidolon’s Ward and the Spear of Righteousness.
“Stay back. I’ll handle this.”
Looking over to the figure he removes his helmet.
“You know what I’m capable of. Sure you want to do this?”
“I am.”
“It didn’t go so well for you last time.”
The robed figure chuckles. “Believe me when I say that I have… evolved since then.”
Arc grits his teeth and smiles wickedly. “Very well. I came here to watch a show and drink juice…”
Grabbing his bottle, Arc downs the last of it in a few gulps and tosses the empty bottle into a nearby bin before picking his helmet up and putting it back on. He points the Spear of Righteousness at his opponent menacingly.
“…and now that I’m all out of juice, I suppose you and I will be the show!”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
As Arc moves to turn back to his opponent he suddenly stops halfway. Ember looks confused.
“Arc? Is something…?”
Without a word Arc collapses, smashing face first through their table.
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10763694
Pyramid Head?
10764084
This is true but at the same time Rarity is still a grown mare and more than capable of having her own dating life, which Spike should be aware of. He may be young but he's far from well informed than most children his age group. I can see how he is taking it much harder as he really likes Arc and considers him a very close friend after all he's done for the little drake. Spike feels nothing but betrayal from to of the closest creatures to him outside those he considers family.
Spike dun F*CK it up now! And how is that guy still alive!
10764146
Why Twilight never addressed this problem before is beyond me. In Season 1 - Episode 1 when Rarity and Spike met... that would have been a good time for her to have "the talk" with him. 
Agreed. I always felt like Spike was either delirious or in denial.
10764155
It has been quite some time. The last time he was mentioned was back in Volume 16 - Chapter 23 after Arc rescued the Council of Lords and nobles from the rebels...
Franks going to have t have a quiet word with cloak guy given Arc just went sleepy by?.
10764772
It's all up to Frank, Ember, and Rarity now.