Chapter 20 - Park Ranger
Derpy falls asleep quickly in Arc’s arms, her face pressed into his chest. However, Arc stares at the ceiling for hours as he muses to himself.
“Both Applejack and Derpy have expressed a desire to have my children. While I don’t know if that would be possible, Auriel also volunteered for the job. But her I certainly can make a child with. But how would the others view that? Would they come to resent Auriel for it? Especially if she can’t figure out a way to make their DNA compatible. And Hammer… she could certainly give me a child. But would that then put her in the same boat as Auriel?”
Putting an arm over his face, he sighs.
“I need to have some very serious talks with that group.”
A voice rings out in his head.
“Yes, you do.”
Looking around, Arc frowns as he thinks to himself.
“Where are you, Wiseman?!”
“Nowhere of importance.”
“How are you… doing the whole telepathy thing?!”
Wiseman chuckles. “The same way anyone does it, I suppose.”
Arc groans inwardly. “Look, I’m kinda having a moment here. So if you could see fit to just get lost, that would be GREAT!”
“Ah, yes. Young Derpy lying with you. Such a sweet sight to behold, I’m sure.”
“What are you?! Some kind of peeping tom?!”
“Not to worry. I am sure to give you all the privacy in the world when you’re trying to be… intimate.”
“Get to the point then!”
“Very well. I’d like you to go see Mio later today at her little campsite. The time will be exactly eleven o’clock at night.”
Arc scoffs. “Why? Is she low on toilet paper, or something?”
“The reason will be made apparent when you arrive. And, to answer your question, she’s doing fine in regard to the paper.”
“Any sage advice for me this time?”
“Yes. You must allow what will happen, to happen.”
“Are you saying that she’s been able to get that portal machine to work?!”
“She will, yes. But not in the way imagined.”
“That doesn’t make any sense!”
“At the moment, no. But when the time comes… do not interfere with what transpires.”
“With WHAT?!”
“You’ll see when you arrive.”
“And that’s all?! Just show up and do what?! Bear witness?!”
“In a matter of speaking. But believe me when I say that you will be needed at that time.”
Arc shakes his head. “And what if I refuse to go?”
“I cannot force you to do that which you don’t want to, Arc. However, you would then have to live with the knowledge that you were needed urgently... and didn’t go.”
“Guilt trip, huh?”
“Do you feel guilty?”
“Not in the least.”
“Trust me. You will if you don’t go.”
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?! Wiseman? WISEMAN?!”
Arc grits his teeth as silence again fills his head.
“I really hate that man.”
Carefully pushing Derpy off of him, Arc stands and heads to the bathroom. Splashing cold water on his face he stares into the mirror for a few moments before grabbing a towel. Leaving the bathroom, he heads downstairs as the magic candles light his way. Sitting down on the couch he stares up at the ceiling for a long time. Eventually the sound of footsteps coming downstairs rings out as Derpy enters the room. Turning to him nervously she speaks.
“Arc? Did I… do something wrong?”
Arc shakes his head. “No, Derpy. I just needed to think.”
“Are you okay?”
“Kinda.”
Derpy sighs as she sits down next to him. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Wiseman just contacted me.”
“He was here?!”
“Not exactly. It was a telepathic conversation.”
“What did he want?”
“To tell me to go see Mio at eleven tomorrow night.”
“In the woods?”
“Yup.”
“Are you going to go?”
Arc shrugs. “That’s what I was thinking about when you came in.”
Derpy appears confused. “Why wouldn’t you? I mean, you’re only going there to check on her, right?”
“I’m just sick and tired of Wiseman just jerking me around like I’m his little puppet on a string. As powerful as he is, whatever is going to happen out there tomorrow should be handled by HIM!”
“But what about Mio?”
“She’s fine out there.”
“If that was true, Wiseman wouldn’t have contacted you.”
“Then HE can take care of…”
“Arc, please. All you have to do is go there and check on her. That’s not hard or time consuming.”
“I guess not. But…”
“Arc, please go check on her.”
“Now?”
Derpy nods. “Yes.”
“But why?”
“Because I’m worried.”
“You don’t even know Mio though.”
“That’s true, I don’t. But she’s Hammer’s sister and I know she’d be upset if something happened to her.”
Arc sighs. “I guess that’s true.”
“This may be nothing, but I’d sleep better knowing Mio was okay.”
“Alright. I’ll do it for you and Hammer then.”
Derpy smiles. “Thank you. I’ll wait in the bedroom for you. But you might want to put some clothes on first. It looks pretty cold out there.”
Arc chuckles as he stands up. “Probably a good idea.”
Heading upstairs with Derpy, Arc puts on a shirt and jeans as she lays back down on the bed. Grabbing his coat he puts it on before throwing his helmet on and a magic cloak over himself. Vanishing from sight he walks over to the sigil in the middle of the floor and powers it up. Reappearing on the sigil near Mio’s encampment, Arc slowly and cautiously heads for it. Spotting the remains of a fire in the pit he looks around via the True-Sight Enchantment. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary Arc heads for the tent. Hearing light breathing he reaches down and very slowly unzips the tent flap about six inches. Seeing Mio curled up in her sleeping bag he nods and closes the zipper. Taking a final look around the campsite Arc returns to the sigil and teleports back to his parent’s room. Derpy turns to the sigil as he decloaks.
“Everything okay?”
Arc nods as he pulls off the magic cloak. “All’s quiet over there.”
“Are you sure she’s okay?”
Arc nods as he removes his coat. “I opened the tent to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully.”
“Warm enough?”
“Yeah. That sleeping bag I brought her was pretty well insulated.”
“Good. I can sleep knowing that she’s okay.”
“That just leaves the matter of whether or not I’m going out there at the time Wiseman said I should.”
“Please do, Arc. Remember, it wouldn’t have to be a long visit. Just enough to make sure she’s safe.”
“Alright. But it’s going to be a quick one. Especially if things are as quiet as they were just now.”
Derpy smiles as she stands. “That’s all I can ask.”
Taking Arc’s hand, she leads him back to the bed. Laying down the pair fall asleep shortly thereafter. Awakening the next morning to the sound of tapping at the window Arc listens for a time. Derpy raises her head, confused.
“Arc? What’s going on?”
“Sounds like it’s sleeting.”
“Sleeting?”
“Think of it like snow, but instead of flakes you get balls of ice.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“It’s certainly out of the norm. Not something we get often around here.”
“Could it be dangerous?”
“Sleet does make the roads a lot slipperier. But it doesn’t usually last very long and melts quickly as the temperature rises throughout the day.”
“That’s good.”
Sitting up, Arc looks out the window.
“Scratch that.”
“Huh?”
“That’s not sleet.”
“Oh? Then what is it?”
“Freezing rain.”
“Is that what it sounds like?”
Arc nods. “Yup. Rain that freezes when it hits the ground.”
“Now that HAS to be dangerous.”
“Mostly only for driving. The roads become skating rinks.”
“So we should just stay inside?”
“Probably for the best.”
Derpy suddenly sits straight up. “Oh no?!”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Derpy?”
“What about Mio?!”
“Other than her tent being covered with ice, I’m sure she’s fine.”
“But couldn’t she suffocate in there?!”
“Not likely.”
“Is it possible though?!”
“Maybe. But it’d be a one in a million chance.”
“Can you go check on her please?!”
Arc sighs. “Fine.”
Standing, Arc grabs a pair of jeans and steps into them. Derpy smiles as she watches.
“Thanks for doing this, Arc.”
Arc smiles at her. “Yeah, well… for you I’d do anything, Derpy.”
Derpy giggles. “And I’d do the same for you.”
Calling forth his armor, Arc holds up a gauntlet as he steps out onto the sigil in the center of the room. Activating it, he is transported to just outside Mio’s camp. Making the short walk to the clearing he spies her sitting next to a small fire. Spotting him she quickly stands up.
“Oh! Um… hello.”
“Hi. Sorry to show up so early, but I… wanted to come check on you.”
Mio appears confused. “But why?”
“The weather mostly. A friend of mine was worried you might be in trouble.”
“A friend?”
“No one you know.”
Mio grimaces. “I thought it might have been Hammer.”
Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Honestly I haven’t spoken to her in a few days.”
He looks to the fire before continuing.
“You might want to put some more wood on that.”
“I, um… don’t actually have any.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “You burned through all that wood already?”
“Keeping a very bright fire burning through the night takes a lot of fuel.”
“All night?”
Mio sighs. “The night you brought the letter from Hammer, I…”
She fumbles for the right words before pointing to her machine and continuing.
“I’ve been pulling a lot of all-nighters trying to get this thing running.”
“When’s the last time you slept?!”
“Well, last night I pretty much passed out when the sun went down. But I got up when the freezing rain started.”
Arc looks around. “I thought I left you a hatchet though.”
“You… you did.”
“Then why…?”
“I couldn’t swing it properly, okay!”
They are silent for a time as Mio puts a hand to her forehead.
“Sorry about that. The truth of the matter is that I… um… have really bad wrists.”
“Born with it?”
Mio shakes her head. “No, I… um… was injured during… training.”
Arc turns to the forest. “I’ll go cut you some more then.”
Pulling the guardanium knife from his ring, Arc channels his magic through it. Making quick work of an old tree trunk nearby he picks the wood up with his magic and carries it to the far side of the tent before returning to Mio at the campfire.
“There you go.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Well, I should be getting home for breakfast. You going to be okay out here?”
Mio sighs. “No real choice there. I’m sure the military is on the hunt for me as we speak.”
“Are… are you sure you don’t just want me to take you to Hammer?”
“No. I have to do this myself.”
“Fine. Carry on then, I guess.”
Mio suddenly stands as Arc turns away. “Wait!”
Arc looks back. “What is it?”
“I… n-never mind.”
Arc nods and opens a portal. Stepping through, Mio sighs as she watches it close.
“Sorry, Hero. I’m just not brave enough to say what I need to.”
Staring at the fire for a few moments, Mio eventually groans and turns to her machine.
“Guess I’d better get back to work.”
Meanwhile, Arc reappears on the sigil in his parent’s bedroom as Derpy lies there waiting for him. Recalling his armor he turns to her.
“Mio’s doing just fine.”
“Keeping warm?”
“Yeah. I chopped her some more wood while I was there though. She should be okay for a few days.”
“How about food?”
“She has a few more days’ worth of food by my budgeting.”
“Well… maybe she eats more than you do.”
“Not likely.”
“Could we go buy some more for her later? When it’s safe to do so, I mean.”
Arc nods. “If you want to, sure. We just need to wait for Dinky and the others to get back.”
“They’re staying in Canterlot for the day.”
“Oh?”
“Dinky said she wanted to try planning more dates for you. But she told me that her plans were twofold.”
Arc grins. “Giving us more time alone together?”
“Exactly.”
Arc chuckles as he lays back down with Derpy. “Clever girl.”
Sometime later that day Arc drives the Jeep along the salted road with Derpy at his side. Arriving at the store they enter and grab a cart. Derpy turns to Arc.
“What kind of foods do you think Mio would like?”
“I’m not really sure. I think Hammer said that she only made vegetarian dishes when they lived together.”
“So she doesn’t eat meat?”
“Truth be told, I can’t remember for sure.”
“What do we do then?”
“Err on the side of caution, I suppose.”
Returning home an hour or so later, Arc and Derpy put away their groceries as they set Mio’s goods on the kitchen table. Arc chuckles as he speaks.
“Wonderful invention.”
“Which one?”
“Canned goods. That and they don’t need to be refrigerated until opening.”
“She could just open a can and cook it over the fire though, right?”
“Yup. I did give her a pan and long spoon with the original pack of stuff though.”
“Sounds like you thought of everything, Arc.”
“Actually Hammer did that. She had it down to a science.”
Derpy looks at the goods. “Maybe you should run this stuff over to her now. I’d hate for her to miss meals.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of when I head over there later tonight.”
“But what if she’s out of food?!”
“Then I imagine she would have said something when I was there.”
“I suppose so.”
“That and I probably shouldn’t interrupt her when she’s working.”
“Twilight and Auriel both lose their train of thought if they’re interrupted. Maybe it’s the same with her too.”
Arc shrugs. “In any case, we’ll just have to figure out what else to do today.”
“Dinky and the others won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”
“Anything in particular you want to do?”
As if on cue Arc’s stomach rumbles. Derpy giggles.
“How about we start with breakfast, Arc?”
“That’s probably for the best, yes.”
Derpy blushes slightly. “Um… afterwards, I… did have something I’ve wanted to experience for some time now. But it might be asking a bit too much.”
“Whatever you want to do, we’ll do.”
“Okay. But if it’s too much please feel free to say so.”
Derpy whispers Arc her idea. He appears surprised.
“I… guess that’d be kinda nice.”
“It is a lot of work though. So I understand if you don’t want to…”
Arc interrupts her. “No, no. I really do think it’s a cool idea. Just never actually thought about doing something like that.”
Derpy appears hopeful. “You mean…?”
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
“Great! I’ll get a late breakfast going before I come to help.”
“That’s okay. I can handle it myself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yup. You just focus on getting food made and I’ll handle the rest.”
Half an hour later Derpy enters the bedroom carrying a platter of eggs and hash browns. She sets it down on the nightstand and turns to Arc.
“How’s it going?”
Arc calls out from behind the vanity. “Just finished setting everything up. You?”
“I have the food. Just let me pop downstairs for some milk and glasses.”
“Okay. I’ll be ready when you get back.”
Derpy hurries downstairs as Arc pushes the vanity back into place against the wall. Walking over to the bed he fluffs up the pillows and fixes the bedsheets as the sound of Derpy returning rings out.
“I’m back!”
She walks over to him with two glasses and a partially filled half gallon of milk.
“Is this enough?”
Arc nods. “I think so, yes.”
He motions to the bed before continuing.
“Shall we?”
Derpy giggles happily. “Yes!”
Lying down, Derpy props herself up on the pillows as Arc grabs the remote and presses the ‘Power’ button. The freshly installed television (from downstairs) at the foot of the bed springs to life as Arc turns to Derpy.
“So what do you want to watch?”
“Um… there’s this show Dinky really likes. But I can’t remember what it’s called.”
“Can you describe it?”
“It’s about a bunch of young humans whom put on costumes and fight some kind of alien invaders that live on the moon. But it starts with their normal, everyday lives.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Power Rangers?”
Derpy nods. “That’s the one!”
Arc chuckles. “I remember watching that when I was a kid. Thought she’d get a kick out of it so I suggested she give it a try.
Derpy smiles as she begins serving the food. “So she found out about it from you?”
“Yup. It was my favorite after school show.”
“It’s nice that they still show it then.”
Arc presses a few buttons on the remote to activate the guide. “According to the lineup they’re going to be having a marathon. Every episode will be shown in the order it was released.”
“So we can see them all?!”
“Well, as many as you want to, sure.”
Giving him a plate of food, Derpy turns to make one for herself as Arc pours milk for them. Handing him utensils, they begin watching as the first episode begins. A rocket ship flies toward the moon and two astronauts can be seen walking side by side. Spotting a strange looking container they run over to it. Derpy frowns.
“Did they just call that thing a ‘dumpster’?”
Arc chuckles. “Yup.”
“But it doesn’t look anything like any dumpster I’ve ever seen. Are they different here on Earth?”
“Just a bit bigger. I’m guessing it was sorta lost in translation.”
“Translation?”
“The footage from this show was taken from another one called ‘Super Sentai’. It was originally made in a country on the other side of the world called Japan. So all the actors and actresses were speaking Japanese.”
“Then how can we understand what they’re saying?”
“It’s part of ‘localizing’. That means changing things to make the words and context work in another part of the world. They changed the dialogue from Japanese to English.”
Derpy points a finger at the creatures on the screen. “That’s good. Dinky says it’s all about these things trying to take over the world though.”
“Yeah, they were sealed in that ‘dumpster’ for being criminals, or something.”
“They do look pretty shady.”
Arc picks up his fork and makes himself comfortable. “Well, let’s keep watching and you’ll see what happens next.”
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Arc turning up so many times during one day makes the General come by to visit and collect at Milos?
Been a while since we’ve had a wiseman encounter. Good to see he’s still doing stuff.
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He's always watching. Watching... and waiting.
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Only if absolutely necessary.