An Alternate Arc

by Hye

A Different Break-Out

The next day, everyone was gathered in the restaurant for a private discussion, Arc and Ember being a bit late and Tempest poking at her food. Cami, being Cami, decided to poke some fun at her.

“So, the two lovebirds kept you up last night?”

With the ignition of her anger to just below the flashpoint while her body language said otherwise, he got the message that she didn’t want to talk about it. He promptly ignored it, moving his eyebrows in a suggestive motion while having an honesty disgusting grin. Before his sister could reprimand him, Tempest was a blur, leaving Cami with numerous bruises and some dislocated limbs. Standing with a moan and smirk, he popped them back in place as his Family medallion glowed, healing the rest of him almost instantly.

“You know-.”

“I’ve killed 274 Changelings so far, half of them at once. Half of the remainder, I tortured until they gave up intel, then continued until they gave up the rest. The rest of them were death by a thousand cuts, with some in… intimate, places.’

She turned to a white and trembling Cami while Weather shook her head and patted him on the shoulder, cleaning up the mess he made on the floor by freezing and sweeping it up.

‘Want to die?’

He shook his head as she held it in place with her magic, the shocks hurting him as he struggled to get away while she drew closer. Getting right in his face, her scream echoed through the lobby as everypony else there ignored it.

‘THEN STOP ACTING LIKE EVERYTHING REVOLVES AROUND YOU!!”

After it finished ringing through his head, he nodded and left, stumbling out past an amused Arc and Ember as they entered, sat at a table, and began eating the meal they ordered from their room. At the end, Arc wiped his mouth and spoke two words.

“Luna Bay.’

The amount of food that exited Ember and Tempest’s mouths were comically large, and as he finished his drink, left a tip and left the building, the table was rushed to be cleaned. When everyone was finished staring at each other, they rushed to catch up with him on the sidewalk. Staying next to him as he walked towards the coast, they waited for him to clarify, which he did after handing Ember a scroll from their predecessors out of his box.

‘Two mares. Aloe and Vera Green. In prison for the ‘heinous crime’ of self-defense against their disgusting criminal parents three years ago, there wasn’t enough ‘physical proof’ for their innocence, so the judge decided to throw the book at them and dump them into the worse jail possible. The previous Heroes couldn’t do anything, having retired, so they left this scroll and yours, Miss Shadow, close together so their successors could do something.’

Glancing at the nervous, horrified, and in the case of Tempest and Ember, visibly excited, group, he nods at their unspoken thoughts.

‘Yes, I’m going there to get their case reevaluated.”

Tempest got up in her hind legs and pretended to fight.

“If that doesn’t work, we-?”

She pantomimed punching through a poor soul’s chest and out the back. That, along with her excited, toothy grin unnerved nearly everyone else, to which he shrugs.

“Probably. Now, who’s with me?”

---

Colonel Klink stumbled off his chair in surprise as Sergeant Shultz rushed in, babbling.

“S-s-s-sir! ThenewHeroesofLight! They’rehere,andtheyhaveaguardfromTheFamiliaMC! Whatshouldwedo?!”

Getting back up while shaking his horned head clean of oatmeal, he ate normally while twisting his Sergeant’s wing.

“Now, speaking normally, tell me what’s happening.”

“New- Heroes of Light! Here! Have- Familia guard!”

“Hm. ‘New Heroes of Light’? Let’s take a look at the cameras and see if you’re telling the truth.”

Taking a few more bites, he trotted to his desk and sat down, breath quickening and eyes dilating as they locked onto the Sigil. Gulping, he quickly made his way down to the front and bowed. The whole time, Shultz whimpered, struggling in silence to keep up and pleading with his eyes.

The group subtly winced in sympathy at the sight, Arc stepping up.

“Sir? While I’m glad you’re eager to do your job, your Sargent is suffering.”

“Really?’

He looks at the crying and whimpering stallion.

‘He’s looks alright to me.”

What followed a gesture from Arc was choking and a body slam from Ember and a mild beating from Tempest, ending with a direct kick to the groin. As a moaning Klink was escorted to the medical ward, Colonel Shultz graciously led them to The Deck that overlooks The Yard. It was currently full of prisoners eating, a pair of them being the mares in question, who Arc points out.

“Them. We want them and their files.”

Looking at him questionably, Schultz shrugs and calls for them to come up, the other guards holding guns and crossbows to prevent anypony else from making any sudden movement. As they climbed up, chains were brought, but were waved off by Arc, their magic being absorbed when they insisted. They were shocked, to say the least, but before they could do anything, the twins reached the top. They were reverse colorations of each other, one with a blue coat, pink tail and mane, the other with a pink coat, blue mane and tail.

Looking at him in awe, they followed him to the Colonel’s office that was currently being cleaned. Signing some documents, they were released into his custody, and as they left through the preexisting Sigil in front of the prison’s entrance, the new Colonel sighed as he began to reorganize the office.

“Time to get things improved around here!”

---

Stepping out of the portal, the twins were semi-nervous, having ended in front of city hall. It turned to slight confusion when they were escorted to the Open Land Hotel. It only increased when they were offered jobs on the spot by Weather Maker. Looking as one at each other, then Arc, he answered their unasked question.

“It was the right thing to do.”

Right then, the Sigil on Arc’s right gauntlet glowed, a scroll with the seals of Luna and Cadence appearing in his hand. Opening it, he sees that there’s a Light Competition for the guard(s) who’ll join them whenever asked, Twilight not counted as the Heroes asked her directly. Each branch will have the opportunity to show off their best, fighting each other for the chance to join the Heroes. The first event was at noon, Cadence’s guards vs Luna’s, then the winners vs Celestia’s in the evening.

“Mind if I leave a Sigil next to this table?”

Food Healer, Weather’s Aunt, gestured for the trio to follow her as she went towards the elevator.

“We’ll do better.”

Leading them to his suite, she gestures to a trio of work ponies who are finishing polishing a large circle with elegant bordering in the middle of the space between the living and dining rooms. Nodding in thanks, he kneels and places an equally large Sigil in the center of it, Ember and Tempest, her armor inside her scarf, joining him.

Reappearing in a deserted Throne Room, the waiting guard asked them to follow her. She guides them to a balcony overlooking a private courtyard, where Cadence and Luna were sitting on royal chairs, two others to their right with the Hero’s Sigil on top. The one to Luna’s right had a crude handprint underneath, with the second having a flame. A third was set to the right of the last one, with a nervous Tempest taking it. Arc and Ember switched their chairs so that a shuddering Tempest could hold his hand, and as everyone sat, the chosen guards began stepping out.

“Excuse me, Your-?’

“Please, Mr. Arc. Just our names when we’re alone. What is it?”

‘What if we were to have the three teams fight all at once? Not only would we see how each of them play off of each other, but there would be less chance for something bad to happen tomorrow and for us to not catch it.”

Looking at each other in wordless communication, they nod in agreement, calling for Celestia’s guards to come out and for all to have a battle royale. Not questioning this, they joined the other group, bowed toward the balcony, then turned towards each other, weapons drawn and ready to pounce. Luna turned to Arc, sweeping her hoof towards the waiting soldiers.

“You do the honors, Heroes of Light.”

“On three, Arc?”

“Like you have to ask.”

‘One.’

‘Two.’

Simultaneously.

“THREE!” “THREE!”

Lunar and Love immediately turned on Solar, the two somehow working together despite their contrasting fighting styles. Lunar soldiers emphasized individual attacks, while Love soldiers were paired off, each able to work with another pair or alone as needed. Despite their valiant efforts, the Thestrals providing distractions the Love guards effectively took advantage of, the Solar guards were able to beat them both at the same time with few losses. The Solars helped up their brothers and sisters in arms, all the groups having red and blue marks on their body representing a lethal or near-lethal strike.

As they lined up, their commanders stood in front of them, looking up expectantly for their final choice.

“My love, I think we have our best of the best! ... Arc?”

Turning to him, she and everypony else was surprised at the blank slate that was Arc’s face at the moment. After a few more moments, he turns to Their Majesties.

“How capable would you say they would be able to work together?”

The two princesses looked as one to each other, then to the puzzled troops and commanders, then back to the duo as Tempest began wildly grinning and vibrating in place. As this caused Arc to suffer the same vibrating effect, he held up a hand to stop the guards and leaned back with a satisfying sigh, gesturing for a now chuckling Tempest to continue. Relaxing for a bit, he stopped as Tempest froze from the icy glare the Princesses sent her.

Noticing this, he sent them a brief glare in response while patting her hoof, making them stand down. Standing up and stepping to the railing, he gestured for the rest to join him, which they did. Sweeping an arm across the yard, he spoke.

“This is a competition for us get the best back-up/personal guards/advisor(s), right?”

They nodded as he continued.

“Well, I would like for the newest of each group to step forward.”

Their faces becoming downright befuddled, they nodded, the equally dumbfounded Commanders following Arc’s request. Four ponies stepped forward, their nervousness obvious.

“Congratulations, you four. You’re now with us. Further details will be provided soon.”

As the group headed to the Throne Room, when the princesses or Ember would try to get clarification, Arc would place a finger on his mouth and shush them. When everyone was reunited, he got to explaining.

“I’m going to go right to the point.

You guys are going to have to metaphorically forget everything you’ve ever learned.”

Everyone except Tempest stared incredulously at him, the mare in question trotting excitedly in place. As all looked at her, Arc lifted an eyebrow questionably.

“You’re going to teach them how to work together in new ways that has to do with a mix of my training and theirs, which means that they would have to adapt themselves from scratch!”

Blinking at this point, the princesses and soldiers are about to verbally question him when he nods and grins at her statement, Tempest’s hoof pumping at being right. Opening their mouths, they decided to shut them with the exception of the Solar soldier.

“We’ll introduce ourselves just outside your new Base in Ponyville, Heroes of Light.”

That short-circuited Ember’s and Arc’s minds for a bit, Ember recovering first and asking what he meant. Princess Luna answered with an embarrassed blush.

“Forgive me, for I had forgotten to discuss the layout of your base, as well as… Even inform you that… There was one… In the first… Place.”

Coughing, she gestured for everyone to follow her to the nearby Sigil, teleporting them in front of the already massive, grand, and castle-like half-finished base, complete with towers, moat, gate, and an interior courtyard able to fit the whole of Ponyville plus two hundred guards. Turning to the traveling trio, the Princesses chuckled at their shock as Arc and Ember’s mouths flapped soundlessly. As the latter turned towards them with a huge grin, the former with a questioning semi-frown, and Tempest continued staring excitedly, Princess Cadence announced with a voice just a tick below the RCV.

“WELCOME TO YOUR BASE!!”