Several weeks pass. Arc grows steadily stronger as his wounds heal. One day as he, Twilight, and Rarity walk along the streets Twilight looks up to him.
āIt looks like youāre doing much better.ā
Arc nods. āYes, I can walk pretty much as far as I could before.ā
Rarity smiles. āThatās very good. Say, could we stop by my shop? I have something for you, Arc.ā
āSure. Lead the way.ā
They arrive at Carousel Boutique. Rarity opens the door and steps aside for them to enter. Leading them into the back room she points a hoof at a bundle sitting on a workbench.
āThatās for you, Arc.ā
āWhat is it?ā
Twilight grins. āI suppose the best way to answer that question would be to open it.ā
Arc nods and does so. Untying the knot in the bag he opens it and pulls something out.
āA new shirt!ā
Rarity nods happily. āThereās more in there.ā
Digging deeper, Arc pulls out a pair of pants and undergarments. Turning to Rarity he smiles.
āThank you very much!ā
āThese should fit you a lot better than the oneās I cobbled together earlier.ā
Twilight nods. āWhy donāt you try them on though, Arc. See how they fit.ā
Rarity turns to leave. āYes. Weāll wait out here.ā
Closing the door behind them, Arc disrobes and pulls on the shorts.
āNice fit in theā¦ anywaysā¦ā
Pulling the pants on, Arc looks it over as he buckles them.
āFeel even better than my old pair.ā
Finally, pulling the shirt over his head Arc looks himself as he steps out of the room. Rarity appears nervous.
āHow does it fit?ā
āPretty good. But how did you know how to make these? Iām quite a bit different from a pony in stature.ā
Twilight grins. āI may have helped her with that.ā
āOnce when you were soaking in the tub I pulled your dirty clothes out of the hamper and had Spike run them over to Rarity.ā
āI took all the measurements, looked over how they were constructed, and started drawing up patterns.ā
Arc smiles as he looks himself over in a floor to ceiling mirror. āWell, you certainly nailed this outfit.ā
Rarity points a hoof toward the back room again. āThat was only one set. I sewed you up a few more of everything. Theyāre in another sack back there.ā
āAgain, I thank you. But I need to pay you back for this.ā
Twilight chuckles. āGuess youāll have to settle for and I.O.U, Rarity.ā
āItās fine, Arc. We all know you came here with nothing but the clothes on your back.ā
Twilight bows her head. āIf anything Iāll pay for them. After all, you are my responsibility.ā
āWhile I appreciate that, I should probably look into getting a job.ā
Rarity puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. āI donāt think any of the shops are looking to hire on help at the moment.ā
Twilight looks to Rarity. āWhat about outside of town?ā
āWherever would you mean?ā
āSweet Apple Acres just started their fall harvest. They never have enough hooves to gather everything before the first snowfall.ā
Rarity gasps. āBut Arcās not strong enough to work on a farm!ā
āI think I can manage.ā
āBut what about your injuries?!ā
Twilight smiles. āIām sure Applejack wouldnāt make him do anything too strenuous. After all, she knows exactly what happened to him.ā
Arc sighs. āThat and I donāt think anyone else would want to hire me.ā
Rarity frowns. āDonāt give up, Arc. They just havenāt gotten to know you like we have.ā
āOh, I do understand that. After all, I still clear the streets every day.ā
Twilight groans. āWeāll have to find a way to change that at some point.ā
āYes, Twilight. Now then I donāt mean to cut this short but I need to head over to Fluttershyās cottage to make a delivery.ā
Arc raises an eyebrow. āClothes?ā
āOh no. She asked me to come up with a myriad of different sizedā¦ umā¦ bibs.ā
Twilight appears confused. āBibs?ā
Rarity nods. āFluttershy says that some of her animal friends are slobbering food all over themselves when they eat. That causes a lot of cleanup time for her after meals.ā
Arc looks over to her. āI could bring it to her.ā
Twilight gasps. āThat might not be the best idea.ā
Rarity sighs. āAgreed. She lives on the outskirts of town near the Everfree Forest, after all.ā
āIs it dangerous?ā
Twilight shakes her head. āAs long as somepony stays out of the forest itself, yes. But you shouldnāt go alone.ā
āAgreed. If you were to be hurt, nopony would help you.ā
āI can be really careful.ā
Twilight sighs. āWellā¦ Iāll go with you. Youāll need somepony to show you the path anyways.ā
Rarity nods. āVery well. Iāll get her order.ā
Heading into the back room, Rarity returns a few moments later levitating a two burlap sacks. She passes the small one to Arc whom throws it over his shoulder.
āSheās already paid for them, so no need to collect anything at the time of delivery. This other sack is some spare outfits for you, Arc. But I recommend you pick them up another time. No need to be traipsing around with them.ā
Twilight nods. āOkay. See you for tea tomorrow, Rarity.ā
Arc waves as the head out the door. āBye. And thanks again for the clothes.ā
Rarity closes the door behind them and sighs as she turns back to her desk.
āI do hope those clothes will help him look more Equestrian as well. What he had on was a bitā¦ much for ponies.ā
Meanwhile, Arc and Twilight make their way down the road toward the edge of town. As they pass through the Town Square Arc spies numerous eyes peeking out at them from nearby windows.
āI think weāre making progress.ā
āIn your recovery?ā
Arc shakes his head. āTheyāre looking out their windows this time.ā
Twilight sighs. āWellā¦ they canāt keep it up forever.ā
āI guess I canāt really blame them, of course. But at the same time Iāve been here for a while now.ā
āNewcomers to town sometimes have it a bit rough.ā
āHow do they move past it?ā
āPinkie throws them a āWelcome to Ponyville Partyā.ā
Arc raises an eyebrow. āAā¦ what?ā
āItās exactly what it sounds like.ā
āSoā¦ she throws them a party. A literal party?ā
āYes. Sheās been asking me for a while now when she could do that for you.ā
āI didnāt know that.ā
āYouāve been doing a lot of resting though.ā
Arc looks to Twilight warily. āWhat did you tell her?ā
āJust that youāre not yet strong enough for something like that.ā
Twilight sighs before continuing.
āThat and I question just how many ponies would actually show up.ā
āFear?ā
Twilight nods and bows her head. āYes. Partially my own though.ā
āYouāre afraid of me too?ā
āNo, no. I meantā¦ I was afraid that youād be alone at the party. That nopony would want to come. And that youād feel really bad about that.ā
Arc sighs. āWhile I appreciate the thought I still wouldnāt mind having a party. That is, if you think it would help.?
Twilight shrugs. āIt might, yes. But Pinkieās the townās Party Pony, not me.ā
A short time later they arrive at Fluttershyās cottage. Arc looks over the innumerable bird feeders out front as he turns to Twilight.
āShe must really like birds.ā
āJust wait until you see the inside.ā
āUmā¦ is this a tree or a shrub?ā
Twilight shakes her head. āItās a magically enhanced sod roof. Fluttershy says that it helps her animal friends feel more at home.ā
āProbably helps with the utility bills too.ā
āItās veryā¦ cozy.ā
āIs that a good or bad thing?ā
āThat depends on your point of view.ā
āOh?ā
Twilight snickers. āYou may have to duck.ā
Walking up to the front door, Twilight knocks lightly. A few moments later Fluttershy answers. She looks only slightly nervous at Arcās presence.
āH-hello there.ā
Twilight smiles at her friend. āHi, Fluttershy. Rarity asked us to bring you this order.ā
āOh good! These should be useful!ā
Arc steps forward and holds out the sack. Fluttershy slowly reaches forward and takes it as she looks to Twilight.
āThank you very much.ā
āArc carried them here after volunteering, so itās more to his credit than my own.ā
āWell, thank you, Arc.ā
āIt was my pleasure.ā
Fluttershy steps aside. āWonāt you two please come in?ā
Twilight and Arc step inside the house. Arc ducks down to make it inside the rather low door. Looking around he spies a very cozy little living area. Small animal beds lie all around the perimeter of the room. He even notices several mouseholes that appears to have been put there by Fluttershy on purpose. She motions for them to follow her.
āPlease excuse the mess. We havenāt had time to clean up.ā
Twilight looks around. āWhere are all your animals, Fluttershy?ā
āOh, theyāre outside right now. The days are getting cooler and shorter. Iām using this opportunity to make sure they get some sun.ā
Walking through the house, they come to the back door. Opening it, Fluttershy leads them into her backyard. Several coop-like buildings are lined up with chicken wire surrounding them. She gestures to a small patio with a table and chairs.
āPlease, wonāt you two sit down.ā
Twilight and Arc do so. Fluttershy motions toward the trees. Calling forth a number of birds, they hover around her for a few moments before landing in her mane.
āCan I get you two anything? Some tea? A snack?ā
Twilight shakes her head. āNo thank you. We just had breakfast before setting out.ā
āIām still full as well.ā
Fluttershy nods. āThatās good. Tell me, how are things going for you, Arc?ā
āPhysically Iām doing okay. Mentally Iām going a bit stir crazy lying around though.ā
Twilight sighs. āItās probably for the best that youāre able to move around now.ā
āYeah. I could only lie in bed reading for so long.ā
Fluttershy giggles. āTwilight could do so indefinitely.ā
Twilight smiles. āThat would be an interesting experiment. However, I did want to ask you something, Fluttershy.ā
āMe?ā
āYes. Arc is still being shunned by the townsponies. Do you have any ideas on how to go about fixing that?ā
āHave you tried having Pinkie throw him a āWelcome to Ponyvilleā party?ā
Arc raises an eyebrow. āThat must be some party.ā
Twilight shakes her head. āNo. Due to his species I donāt think anypony would show up to it.ā
āYou may have a point there. What have you tried so far?ā
āTwilightās been having me walk around town with either her or Rarity pretty much as soon as I could walk properly.ā
Twilight nods. āI thought that if everypony could see him on a regular basis that they might get used to him.ā
Fluttershy taps her chin with a hoof soberly. āYes, that does make sense. But youāre trying to overcome a LOT of well entrenched stereotypes.ā
Arc sighs. āThat Iāve been told.ā
āRarity sewed him some news clothes. That seemed to help a little.ā
āThey do look very nice, yes. But what does that have to do with the other townsponies accepting him?ā
Arc sighs. āThey at least looked out their windows at me.ā
Twilight nods. āWhile itās a step in the right direction, I know we can do more for him.ā
Fluttershy sighs. āI still think he should just have that party. After all, Pinkie Pie is quite good at what she does.ā
Arc turns to Twilight. āMaybe sheās right. After all, why deviate from a tradition that works?ā
āBut what if nopony shows up?! Youāll beā¦!ā
āIf that happens then Iāll just have a nice time with you and your friends, right?ā
Fluttershy nods. āWeād all come, of course.ā
āAre you sure that you wouldnāt be sad if zero guests show up?
āIām sure.ā
Twilight nods soberly. āThen I guess the only thing to do would be to go see Pinkie.ā
Arc sighs. āAlright. When though? I meanā¦ do we have to make an appointment, or something?ā
Fluttershy shakes her head as she smiles at Arc. āNot to worry. Sheās never too busy to talk about parties.ā
Twilight nods. āItās what makes her special. Soā¦ no time like the present!ā
Arc raises an eyebrow. āYou want to go now?ā
āSure. Like Fluttershy said, this is probably the only way. So the only question now isā¦ are you feeling up to it?ā
āI guess so.ā
Fluttershy stands up, causing her birds to flutter away. āThen letās go.ā
āYou want to come too?ā
āSure. Iām going to be part of the party anyways, Twilight.ā
Arc sighs. āNot sure if this is a good idea or not, but letās get it over with.ā
They stand and begin to walk back toward town. Fluttershy looks to Arc.
āUmā¦ do you have something against Pinkie Pie, Arc?ā
āNo, no. Itās justā¦ sheās soā¦ umā¦ whatās the wordā¦?ā
Twilight looks over. āHigh energy?ā
āI guess thatās one way to put it.ā
Fluttershy frowns. āIs that a problem?ā
āNot really a āproblemā. She just comes across as being reallyā¦ pushy about getting things done her way sometimes.ā
Twilight sighs. āWell, she is the best at what she does. No doubt about that. So please listen to what she has to say with an open mind.ā
āIāll try.ā
Continuing on their way, they eventually come to Sugarcube Corner. As they approach several ponies scatter in all directions. Arc sighs as Twilight looks up at him.
āSheāll think of something.ā
Entering, they find Pinkie at the counter filling the display case with her mane (yes, with her mane). Arc raises an eyebrow.
āI didnāt know ponies couldā¦ā
Fluttershy giggles. āJust Pinkie can.ā
Twilight sighs. āYes. I tried studying it and got nowhere though. After all, her mane doesnāt have tendons, ligaments, nerve endingsā¦ā
Pinkie bounces over to them. āBut it still works!ā
Fluttershy nods. āThat it does.ā
āSo what brings everypony here today?! The new special?! Itāsā¦!ā
Twilight interrupts her. āNo, Pinkie. We were just talking about ways to make Arc here moreā¦ culturally accepted.ā
Fluttershy nods. āTwilight and Rarity have been taking him out for daily walks as part of his recovery.ā
Arc sighs. āBut ponies still flee at the sight of me. Even after weeks of seeing me around town.ā
Pinkie puts a hoof on her chin as a serious look crosses her face. āHow you tried talking to them?!ā
āNo time to do so before they run away.ā
āHuhā¦! You DO have a problem then!ā
Twilight nods. āYes. Yes he does.ā
Fluttershy appears hopeful. āSo can you help him, Pinkie?ā
āSure! All itāll take is aā¦ PARTY!!!ā
Arc rolls his eyes. āKinda thought youād say that.ā
āIāll get to work planning something AMAZING!ā
āOh, but I donāt needā¦ā
āSure you do, silly! After all, youāre the first human to come to Equestria! You need a BIG party!ā
Fluttershy sighs. āPlease donāt make it too big.ā
āWhy not?!ā
Twilight frowns. āJust in case nopony shows up.ā
āBut who can resist a party from PINKIE?!ā
Arc bows his head. āOne being hosted for a beast I would imagine.ā
Pinkie shakes her head. āYou just leave everything to me! Iāll give you something to remember! That is if you donāt mind waiting a bit!ā
Twilight appears confused. āWaiting?ā
āIām booked solid for two weeks out! Everything from birthdays to cute-ceaƱeras to retirement parties! But I also need some extra time to plan something special!ā
Arc nods nervously. āWellā¦ thanks.ā
She walks them to the door and outside to the front stoop. Waving after them Pinkie calls out.
āTrust me, youāll love it!ā
Arc, Twilight, and Fluttershy walk away from the shop. Those watching murmur to one another. Looking around Arc frowns.
āUhā¦ do you two hear that?ā
Twilight sighs. āYes.ā
Fluttershy turns to her. āI forgot about your keen sense of hearing, Twilight. What is it theyāre saying?ā
āGossip.ā
āWhat about?ā
Arc sighs. āProbably me.ā
Twilight pricks up her ears. āActuallyā¦ Iām hearing more aboutā¦ā
Suddenly a small filly runs over to them levitating a sack. She hurries over to Twilight and holds it up.
āTwilight!ā
āHey there, Sweetie Belle.ā
Fluttershy looks at the sack. āWhatās the hurry?ā
āRarity asked me to run down to your cottage and give this to Twilight.ā
Twilight appears confused. āWhat is it?ā
āShe said it was something called socks and undergarments. Not really sure what that means, but theyāre light.ā
She looks up at Arc and smiles nervously.
āUmā¦ hello.ā
Arc waves slightly. āH-hi.ā
Fluttershy turns to Arc. āYouāve never met Sweetie Belle, have you?ā
āArc shakes his head. āNope.ā
Twilight giggles. āSheās Rarityās little sister. Sweetie Belle, this is Arc. Arcā¦ Sweetie Belle.ā
āSo youāre the human everypony is talking about.ā
āGuess so.ā
Sweetie Belle looks him over and frowns. āI donāt get it.ā
Fluttershy cocks her head to one side, confused. āGet what?ā
āWhatās supposed to be so scary about him.ā
Arc shrugs. āMaybe itās the height difference.ā
Twilight sighs. āMost likely the sight of something new.ā
Arc looks to Sweetie Belle. āBut youāre not afraid of me, are you?ā
āNope. But Rarity did warn me about what you looked like.ā
Fluttershy nods. āIt was probably so you wouldnāt run away screaming in the middle of town.ā
Twilight raises an eyebrow. āWhy would anypony do that?ā
Arc rolls his eyes. āOh, I donāt know. Why would everyone clear the streets every time I go to take a walk?ā
āGood point.ā
Sweetie Belle nods and levitates the sack over to Arc. āWell, in any case, here you are.ā
āThanks.ā
Twilight smiles. āSay āhiā to Rarity for us.ā
āI will!ā
The filly bounds away happily as Arc and company continue on their way. As they reach the edge of town Fluttershy turns to Twilight.
āSo what was everypony saying back there?ā
Twilight frowns. āThe whispers?ā
āYes.ā
āYou probably donāt want to know.ā
āWas it bad?ā
āNotā¦ exactly.ā
Fluttershy frowns. āThen Iād like to know.ā
āWellā¦ everypony I heard talking was commenting about you walking with us, Fluttershy.ā
āMe? But Iām nopony special.ā
Twilight shakes her head. āThey were commenting about how you didnāt seem to be afraid of Arc.ā
āBut why would I be?ā
āRemember, you have a reputation for beingā¦ overly cautious.ā
Arc appears confused. āWhat does that have to do with it though?ā
Twilight turns to him. āEverypony was a bit more at ease when they saw that Fluttershy wasnāt scared. Then when Sweetie Belle reacted the same way, it made everypony a bit calmer still.ā
Fluttershy appears confused as she turns to Twilight. āBut thatās a good thingā¦ isnāt it?ā
āYes. I means our plan to make everypony more comfortable around Arc may yet bear fruit.ā
This is why you don't go full gyro
Wait... Just why? I mean shinning wouldn't just give his lil sister a spear, would he? Perhaps twilight just keeps it around for safety... but she has magic and is the student of Princess Celestia. HMMMMMMMMMMM!!! Must find more clues...
Edit1: I'm pretty sure Twily is outside when he has the spear. So I'm sure twilight doesn't keep it around for defence otherwise she would have gotten it... right?
Edit2: Im just gonna add these edit instead of filling an entire section of comments with little note I make
That spear is a prop. It's not an actual weapon. Her magic is much more useful than the "weapon".
Twilight had run outside before the man looked for something to defend himself with, yes.
Under most circumstances with MLP, Fluttershy would probably try to use the 'kinder' approach to figure out why these Ursas are going a bit crazy. But an old fashioned fight to defend the town is pretty good to, especially if it justifies that some strange happenings have been transpiring in Equestria lately (At least no more than how it was in other canons). Reading this portion, it suddenly feels like the dialogue for one of those first person games in which Twilight and Spike almost assume that the man is mute and unable to talk. Yet strangely, while Twilight was able to use the mirror to take things back rather than simply sending him back the same way for whatever reason the magic won't work. A bit of a contrast to how the mirror worked in Equestria Girls, though we 'can' bear in mind that when humans cross through the mirror they turn into ponies and vice versa.
All details aside, we can only imagine that the 'spear prop' given to Twilight certainly can't be for her Gladiator outfit she'd wear that one 'Nightmare Night' (As that event occurred when Twilight's library was blown up courtesy of Lord Tirek). While Twilight doesn't seem like the type to use weapons, it was probably a present from her brother who was Captain of the Royal Guard before marrying Princess Mi Amore Cadenza a.k.a. Cadence and thereby becoming a Prince. For rushing headfirst into the fight, we can clearly see that the man was driven by pure instinct to try to save a group of strangers he never met before. Didn't quite end in his favor (Probably more brutal than what I've seen in more fanfictions), but at least they were able to hold off the bears (For now).
Though why an army of Ursas came to Ponyville of all places is beyond me. But then again, there are two things that happen in Ponyville as noted WAY back in Season 5: Friendship Lessons... Or the occasional 'monster' attack. The addition of the human is pretty new.
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I had to change the properties of the mirror being one-way only otherwise we wouldn't have a very long story. And I didn't want him to be a pony.
At the moment Shining Armor is not the Captain of the Royal Guard, nor does he know Princess Cadance. This story, for the most part, takes place pretty early in the series. Good catch on asking why an Ursa Minor would show up. There will be more on that single act later in the story. Most of what happens does so for a reason.
is it good or bad that in my head I saw him like a star wars tusken rader
like this
when charging into battle
This lesson is morely about making sure that you are protected and have a thought plan for any attacks.
This is an example of Arc doing exactly what Twilight just did. Acting without thinking.
a spear is a spear it works!