A guard finally meets the man behind some anomalies and turns him into the prison.
Arctus is a unique existence in the hell that's he's been thrust into. As a scout, he had all the tools he needed and was used to spending time in the woods; but not quite like this, let alone with avoiding some of these creatures.
But from iron bars, it can't be this bad from here on.
He stood in the trees, hatchet and knife hanging from his hips, a small canteen of water on his front and padded armor over his chainmail to ensure he could be silent, but protected. His helmet had leather covering the metal, riveted on the inside for this reason as well.
He adjusted his leather gloves. This creature had been trying for countless days now to trap him. He knew it was some kind of horse, but its habit of talking to itself was disconcerting and if these new woods taught him anything new.
The more absurd it is, the more capacity to kill it had.
Since there was just one, if he killed it, his home would be that much safer and secret. It almost sniffed his cellar out once.
He tugged his pride from the metal hangers on his back, the rod squeezed out with a tiny sound and he crouched, holding the spear in both hands and moving slowly to hold the pointed tip down. The weapon was made completely of steel, sharpened well and kept maintained with the river stones he used. He went as far as to press his own oil and treat it every now and then to prevent any rust.
Tightened, his hands watched the horse thing while it walked closer and closer.
Then Arctus slipped quietly off the moss covered branches, aiming to spear it right in the throat, he fell from a good eight feet. The horse thing moved, but not fast enough, it's face was gashed opened and blood spilled everywhere.
"I knew you'd try something, but not like this," it sputtered, "you tried to kill me."
He stood tall, aligning his wide bladed, but long headed spear to point at the equine. He reached behind him and gently pulled a small throwing knife out, a trick he learned to use a long time ago to give him a window to triumph.
His feet rushed him to her and with a yell, he thrust his spear forward, the horse jumping back out of the way, blood spilling everywhere as it did. He threw the knife and it landed true, nailing a front hoof of the creature, as he thrust his spear out far to connect again, the horse let loose some sort of cube that struck him far before his spear got close and yellow bars appeared about him, glowing.
His next view was from that of a cell, his spear still dripping with blood of the horse.
"What? How can..."
"Hey! That creature the Princess talked about is here!" He heard a voice.
Princess? No...caught by a creature to be delivered to a royal family for a spectacle? Arctus was keeping his head, that was not negotiable.
And he started bashing the rounded end of his spear against the padlock, taking care to be accurate but not to damage the sharpened head of his spear.
"Stop! We don't want to hurt you!" A...pegasus stood in front of him, barking an order at him. Arctus finally decided...
"Where am I? Whose castle is this?" ...to attempt communication, "am I still in the woods?!"
He laughed, "you can talk! And speak our language!" He stopped bashing the padlock upon the communication, "you just sit tight, she'll be by to see you soon enough."
And he resigned to pace about the cell with no windows, ensuring all his gear was still on him and primed while he walked about. Arctus, in his infinite wisdom, knew lockpicking his way out would be stupid to begin with, so making as much a ruckus as he could was the next best to find out about his enemies.
The seasoned scout looked to the abrs as he heard hooves, likely another horse creature approaching. His spear was already pointed at the entrance.
A larger horse, white coated and with a mix of soft pastel blue, green, and pink in its mane and tail came to him, a horn sprouting from its head and wings on its back, he wasn't sure of any official name to call this one.
"Oh, I guess you are as aggressive as they say you are," a softer voice than the horses he had met so far, "put your spear down, I'm not going to harm you."
He kept his stance, quiet, "just release me and leave me alone."
She chuckled, "back into the forest? That place is far too dangerous."
Her horn light up the same yellow as the bars that transported him to this new cell, he could feel something pull on his spear, "I just want to talk with you, without hostilities."
Same as what every captor ever had said to him.
"My, you are strong."
The horse things had used some kind of power to try and pull his spear through the bars, but just ended up wasting her magic. His spear did not budge from his grip.
"I...I don't think I've met anyone with that kind of strength before. What's your name?"
"Release me," he restated.
It sighed, "fine, we'll give you some food, but I want to talk. You almost killed one of my guards. We can wait until you're ready to talk without violence."
It regarded him as some sort of savage.
And after it left, a guard of these horses came by, giving him some fruits and vegetables to east before leaving. After a while, noise died down and he could tell it was dark, actual night without even seeing the sun.
And the lock clicked open nice and easy, easier than any lock he ever encountered. He took it and pocketed it himself. The door swung open, his hand holding it up to prevent squeaking.
The moment he stepped a foot out, his front lunged over and his head swiveled slowly around to observe, with zero errors, the exact position of everything. Not because it was how he is, but because to be the best you had to be dedicated. Knowing exactly where everything was without looking spared him several precious seconds and allowed him to use environmental combat better.
He walked down halls, head snapping about and saw other horses in cells, asleep as his feet didn't make a single sound in the well repaired boots.
He reached a staircase and ascended, keeping his head low. The horse he attacked earlier that was uncomfortably close to sniffing him out was there along with another of the guard horses.
"Yeah, you did hit that wound with some alcohol, right?"
"Of course I did, who knows what diseases that...thing monkey...whatever it is was carrying."
"Hey, the Princess doesn't want us speaking about it like that, have respect."
"Sorry, just that it...it's damn good in combat, I've never seen an intelligent creature besides us so good, let alone have that much of a drive to...kill."
"So, why didn't you see the healers? That bandage has to suck."
"I did! But for some reason they couldn't heal it, said that the creature did something to prevent the wound from being affected by their magic."
The blued lava metal of his nation had that kind of magic effect, wounds had to heal naturally, not by magic or alchemical mixtures. Meant that anyone who faced him would die if they ever lost the first battle.
Sure, he carried poisons, but those were for the special ones. Assigned targets across wherever to be killed by a due date or however they wanted him to make a spectacle.
"That's...concerning. Where do you think it came from?"
"Not here, not the Everfree Forest, that's for damn sure. I don't even think it came from our world."
"That's impossible!"
But quite literally the situation. He breathed in deep before coming out, staying to the shadows as he went around the far side of the room. His eyes were adjusted and enchanted by the mages of his home nation to help him see in the dark, but as such, they made the sun or bright lights a hell on his eyes. The scout and assassin gripped a gladius by its sheathe and made it to the door before standing up tall.
"Hey...who's there?" He tuned back to their conversation sharply.
"That's him!" The scarred horse shouted.
His spear came down, landing on his muzzle, cutting a little into his nose and prevented him fromt moving anywhere without further wounds, "I'm leaving, you're living. That's how this ends."
"O-oka-."
"That's not a decision you get you agree with, sit back down. This is the simple truth that's happening."
He pulled his spear back and leaned it against him while he attached the gladius around his waist. The sidearm should prove more useful than his hunting knife in closer engagements. He mastered the spear, but it still came with disadvantages. Even using both in tandem would make him far deadlier and it would make for a useful tool at times. That fact is why every nation required every solider, knight, rogue, mage, and anyone who fought to have one on them at all times.
He slipped out the door, they didn't say anything and no alarm, at least audible was rung. He looked down the large, barren, dark halls while his mind was mentally mapping everything he needed to know.
Damn, it felt good to be in the castle of someone he didn't know, a slice of home.
He snuck through the halls, patrols easily avoided as he ascended more and more and more, he had a simple plan, but he somehow managed a wrong turn.
At least it would have been, but this castle was not making any sense to him, he had made it to the throne room somehow and there sat a ruler, not the princess who came to see him but some horse of great importance. It's mane and tail were flowing similarly, but it had an entire color palette of different blue hues.
He noticed spiral stair cases in the rooms however. A gamble to be made.
The scout entered the throne room that was well lit, standing tall as if he belonged and made his way to one of them, almost reaching it.
"Hey! You're the violent guest! Halt there!" The horse shouted across the throne room and guard ebaring polearms rushed from seemingly nowhere at her sides.
Arctus reached down into each of his boots, rubbing a ward firmly once before he sprinted up the stairs. After a minute of ascending, he reached battlements, rain was pouring.
A smile from the heavens at last.
The expert combatant grabbed a bow before he exited, slinging it over a shoulder so it stretched firm and tight to him, he would make a proper holster later. He gripped a barrel of arrows and heaved it up, still closed. The guards shouted at him and he even caught the gaze of one.
With a smile, he stood on the wall of the battlements, the guards pointing halberds at him. He liked drama when he was caught.
"You don't have me that easily. A warning," he reached to his pockets and tossed the lock onto the battlements, "I'm not a creature for you to contain. My name is Arctus, shout that name and seek me in the forest."
That other important horse and the one who visited his cell made their ways up.
He didn't like directly using magic and actively refused to if he could, but this was to send a message. He held the barrel of arrows on his shoulder for a moment.
His index finger along with his ring finger traced a rune into the air, appearing as a fiery red. He encircled it to activate the spell.
"I have no capacity for mercy, if you refuse to run from me in these woods, you'll die," he fell back and the enchantment of his boots engaged, allowing him to stick to the wall as he sprinted on down. He met the tree line when his incantation in the air finished, the battlement and a good chunk of the wall was blasted apart. He peeked back to see the thrown horses get magically grabbed from the air and saved from plummeting to their deaths.
Back at his home, his log roofing laid covered with grass and moss while dirt channels allowed the water to pool into a giant pot above a fire. He already had it lit, letting the water slowly boil. He used plant oil and fibers as candles, letting the wicks lay out while the bottoms soaked and pulled the oils up to it to feed the fire slowly. Survivalist tendencies was his true specialist. He didn't need any civilization to survive and that was a badge of his office that was roughly earned.
He sat in a self made chair, tinkering away and made a proper holster from his new bow to sit on his back right next to his spear. A matching crude quiver as well for his hips.
He'd need to skin and cure another hide to really update from the wood of these holsters. He had used the extra durable wood of those timberwolves however. He even managed to use that wood to create a chimney that linked to a tree next to his sunk-in-the-ground cabin to help hide its exact location.
The scout downed some jerkey, made a week ago, drinking deep from the boiling water stone pot that he did actually use magic to shape. He could have done without it, but the efficiency gave him more time to himself, to contemplate and find his next steps.
He decided that they would come for him, but the display he left would at least leave them severely demoralized in their search and the actual confrontation with him. Their magic was far different from his, theirs seemed to come from their horns while his manipulated the magic within nature. His was definitely more devastating and easier to perform, but theirs was far faster to implement.
He spent that night mentally reviewing before he left his hovel, the rain having ended. He put his fire out before the sun dawned so nothing could see the smoke.
After his short nap, he rose up, drinking again, eating a little bit more and stepped out, knocking aside the moss cover of his entrance and standing up. He pulled his bow out and fully drew it, testing its power.
"Impressive...they're working with seventy five pound draws...proper long bows," or maybe it was a fluke.
Hunting, right. He left his home, mental map at the ready to guide him.
Arctus had been going for quite a wile, having found zero game, but there was a patrol of three horses right there, no wings, no horns.
From the way they were whispering, they were actively searching for him, especially when he caught his name.
From his perch in a bushy fern, he drew and arrow all the way back and let loose right into the hoof of one. Maybe he had gotten soft, but they did let him get away without killing him. Seemed fair to return the favor.
He holstered his bow and climbed the tree swiftly and without any kind of racket, reaching a thick branch and drawing back another arrow. The other two patrol horses were there at the fern he shot from and he landed an arrow into the rear haunch of another. Only one unwounded existed.
"Sweet Celestia! Where is he?!" The scout had already leapt to another tree, the horses slowly grouped rear to rear to scan for him.
He took out a wood pipe from his calf and spoke through it, projecting his voice elsewhere to give a different location, "I warned you not to come for me."
His commotion attracted something...something rather frightening. A large bear with a starry coat began approaching the group.
"Captain! We can't beat that with these deep wounds!"
"We can't retreat either!"
"Go, we're dead, save yourself, Captain!"
"Haven't I taught you boys better? Nopony dies alone, all of us come home or none of us do."
Comradery, that was something in his official position that Arctus was never afforded. The citizens, merchants, mages, and even the nobles and some royal family treated him like he was the actual king when he made it home however. Only on his insistence did merchant ever allow him to pay for goods.
He pulled back two arrows, sending them into the bear's face before he leapt himself and impaled his spear into the back of it, close to the neck. It swung about and the spear and Arctus flew, flipping gracefully before he landed. It closed and swiped a paw, his spear impaled it and he set the rounded edge deep to the earth, keeping it up. The tip clearly poked through on the other side. His new gladius sliced away at the other enclosing paw.
The blade suck deep into its stomach next and the scout ripped his spear out of its paw and sliced above the gladius and then at it's eye, it shrieked and raised both paws to slam down, sluggish. Arctus' sharp mind saw it and the clear opening, his leapt from the ground and pieced its throat deep, his force caused it to stumble back, trip and fall onto its rear where the scout landed on its chest. It was choking on the legendary lava metal.
He retrieved the gladius on his decent, the arrows too broken to be worth retrieving. He wiped the blade on its fur and rehomed it, swinging his spear about to sling blood off before he held it.
"Who..whoa."
"Captain, is it?" He looked to the patrol, "you stay out of my woods, you and your nation," he walked to them, the three cowering and he gripped one's fur roughly, pulling him along, "you're going home, come on."
"Wh-where did you learn to fight?"
"From birth, in my home nation. Aeternia. We all trained up on the volcanoes all day."
"Told you he wasn't from this world!"
"Quiet, no questions, no talking. The creatures here will sniff us out."
They lowered their heads and obeyed. Arctus returned them to the front doors of the castle, just over the bridge that cross the gorge.
"Thanks for getting us back."
The guards at the door kept their weapons pointed. He noticed a Princess, the one who visited him flying down toward them.
"Don't come to the woods again, unless it's a supply trip."
He sprinted as fast as he could, determined to outrun the next confrontation.
Despite his earlier adventure, he still needed to hunt and he took to go deeper into the forest after sprinting away, stepping lightly and head on a swivel, this is where malicious plants lived, but also some creatures he knew he could get some actual food from.
So he snuck about, making sure to keept quiet, avoid the twigs, look about and eventually, he did come across what he was looking for. A single doe, not too large, but he could definitely carry it back. He drew an arrow back and slowly stood, taking aim.
The trees here were not the gnarly ones he was accustomed to living about, but nice aspens that shivered in the wind, creaking.
The arrow loosed and sunk deep into the doe's chest, he began sprinting after it while it ran. Going on for a couple of minutes before he happened upon the animal sturggling for breath with its lungs filling, laid on its side. A quick cut across the throat, a couple of seconds later, and done.
He started harvesting, cutting out meats and setting them in a large cloth bag along with the hide that he carried at his side. The guts, too, in case he needed a new string or thread. He left the remaining carcass, having gathered everything he needed before beginning a sluggish trip home, holding the giant filled cloth over his left shoulder while his right hand held his spear.
It was an uneventful trip back and an uneventful hanging and stretching of hides and guts. Also, an uneventful cooking atop the fire he had right next to his water pot. There he would skewer the meats and roast them slow so he could keep them on the fire as long as he could and even after boil them outright in a stew before they went bad to make it last. Some cuts were also reserved for jerky, something to take out with him that didn't scare off animals by the smell.
He only realized he missed the grand assignments after that run in at the castle of horses. That's where he truly lived and the hunting and forest living was only a nice vacation to relax from his prided work.
Arctus looked around his underground cabin, smiling to himself, "wonder what else is out there...after this deer," he packed a his overcoat more strategically to attach a bedroll to it, made himself from the furs and hides he collected, "we'll see what's out there."
After people, creatures became the next trophy for him, at least here.
He left his underground cabin, bow already in hand, deer finished and all preparations done. The new master of the woods was taking a trip. He moved the cover and climbed out of his cabin, covering it back and quite quickly noticed the horn appendaged pegasus at the tree line, back turned to him. It was that ruler in the throne room. He was departing at night specifically so they would not see him leaving, the illusion of his influence would keep them in line. He started to sneak away, completely quiet.
"Halt!" It called, having noticed him, "had I known you can quietly teleport, I would have been out here with more guard."
He stopped and drew and arrow back while turning around, taking aim, "leave me alone. These are my woods."
"Our castle was built far before you arrived," who knows if that was the truth, they had different magic and couldn't be sure. In the four years he was here, he never encountered them. Then again, in those same four years, he never aged a bit, so nobody could say what was going on. "Who are you?" It approached him.
"You know my name," he loosed the arrow and immediately after drew back another. The horse formed a shield and the arrow broke harmlessly on it.
That complicated battles, it always did.
"Who. Are. You?" He loosed another arrow while it's voice boomed over the wilderness.
It interrupted the silence his authority in the forest gave. The arrow bounced off and he drew back four, letting them lay slack, he muttered under his breath, "skraidantis ugnis prieglauda sprogti," most verbal spells were three or four components. The moment his arrows burned red hot he loosed drew and loosed them, landing them in front of it.
"A mage and a warrior? Is that who you are?" It wasn't a matter of names, it was a matter of titles and knowledge about him.
The arrows landed and his bow left the moment they exploded, holstered away while he sprint quietly on the moss, his spear in front of him. He heard a shatter just after they exploded and jumped through the smoke left behind, slashing with his spear outstretched in one hand, the horse leapt back.
The woodsmaster kept his momentum and in an display of violence and speed and spun and swung again, the horse ducking. His spear gathered close to his body, he vaulted and leapt from above, stabbing down, "pradingti ant pikiruoti."
His next spell vanished him with a blur of the wind and he was above the horse and sent down at incredible speed that gravity could not manage, somehow, he did not land an injury, but he spear drove deep that the blade was fulyl buried in the ground and the rod had the mane of this horse wrapped around it, pinning its head to the earth. The gladius was drawn next, the tip point at its neck very swiftly.
"An assassin of kings, a master of the wilds, a scout sent to kill before the army arrived," he spoke to it, "I am Arctus, slayer of Kings, Leaders, Rising Deities, Defiers of Aeternia."
It didn't answer.
"That's who I am. If you seek me once more, I will kill you and every subject that comes with you," it looked at him still in defiance, but didn't bother to fight him at all. He sheathed the gladius as he leapt away.
"Plienas karka savininkas," his spear flung to his outstretched hand. He stared at the horse as it stood, covered in dirt and moss on one side.
"Luna," it regarded him, "an alicorn princess of the ponies," and there was some information for him. It...she regarded him and gave her identity, "I hope for peace."
And she flew off, not eager to continue conversing after her defeat. He sighed, complications made it harder to kill, as cold as he was trained to be, emotions were not stripped of anyone, only subdued. He left the clearing where his cabin sat hidden, heading out.
It had been a couple of hours before he made it out of the forest, dawn having come and he saw a couple of buildings in the distance and as they had sure enough said...ponies, but of different colors than the white coated guards. Arctus decided to give wide berth to the newborn town, ensuring he would not be seen or bothered and continued moving along. He came to a fresh river and drank deep, bottling some from the flowing water before crossing a shabby bridge and contuining. No wildlife and plenty of long lasting food stashed, he kept traveling.
He came to a giant mountain and heard the wind howl from up above on it. It was a land with many familiar geographic features. It was definitely a lot more peaceful outside the forest, that was certain.
The day was beginning to end however, though the sun had just been in the sky signalling noon. The moon rose and stars came out, but Arctus wasn't the least bit tired. That's when he heard some loud booms and the sounds of stone breaking apart as if his homeland was marching on a rising kingdom.
He turned around and saw giant beams of magic shooting out from the castle in the froest, at least...that's what the stone flying through the air told him, it even landed in the fields around the woods dweller.
Arctus wasn't sure why, but he ran, he ran as fast as he could, concerned for his own home. or concerned for what was going on, he didn't know.
After a long sprint and what felt like hours, he arrived at the castle, seeing ponies as they called themselves gathered outside, watching the magic fly. Arctus wanted to know what was going on inside.
He burst through the crowd and heard their shouting after him as he ran through the front doors and sprinted about the castle until he entered the throne room, seeing the one they called Celestia and another horn bearing pegasus or...alicorn.
Arctus grabbed his bow and pulled an arrow into slot, "oh! Now he wants to kill me to?!" And the dark blue and black alicorn shot a beam at him.
"Kerai sunaikinti!" He shouted and loosed the arrow after applying magic to it. The arrow flew into the beam and it split, easily preventing the beam from hitting Celestia and him, the magic withered and redirected around them both. His projectile was suspended in the air while it pierced the magic, slowly continuing forward and falling to the floor helplessly after the beam was gone.
The warrior put his bow back and drew his spear. He hated fighting mages because of this kinda shit.
"Arc...tus?" Celestia tried his name for the first time, looking behind her to find he was not there. During the time the beam was going with all eyes on his arrow, he made his way into the ceiling, hanging from archictecture.
And he witnessed the white ruler banish the other, a rainbow magic of some sort with six artifacts threw her to the moon, where the image of a pony head and horn was imprinted.
"Arctus?" Celestia called again and he did not respond. The artifacts she used turned to stone and set on a pedestal in the throne room. The ruler left the castle, upon tracking her, he saw her lead all of her subjects out of the woods.
Another day was done, he had plenty of food still after making mental notes of creatures and plants in the forest as he observed them. It definitely became more wild after the ponies abandoned their castle, they were keeping them more in check than he thought. Many more years had passed and he was not even bothered by any more ponies. Though he knew of a new denizen of the deep, they kept to themself.
Arctus breathed deep, his nose was attuned to this place they called the Everfree Forest, but he could smell something new on their winds, maybe even something familiar. He smelt it.
That was the the scent of a new kingdom, the construction, the food, it was a mixed scent that was magically put as an instinct for him to distinguish. He climbed a tree in his home, the tallest he was familiar with and saw a new castle and town perched out the mountain he once came face to face with while exploring. He was trained to go to these places and crush them, no one was to start a new fortress, nation, castle, township without Aeternia's permission. His nation liked ambitious people as long as they were kept under leash.
He climbed back down, but along the way back to his cabin, he had a visitor who purposefully sought him out.
"Arctus."
He pulled his spear from his back, whipping it in front of him, "I warned you to not seek me out."
"Why?"
That was not a question he was prepared to answer, a silence passed, "I live alone, always have."
"But why not socialize?"
"I do, with communicating when ponies get too close to my activities," he kept his spear trained on him.
"That's not-."
"I am far too violent for you, leave me."
Celestia narrowed her eyes at him and he questioned her look before a bolt of magic shot to him to be stopped by his spear head.
"Interesting. Your tactic of diplomacy however needs much to be desired," he had done research in the years he was here, "your sister was a much better fighter," she visibly winced, he hit a nerve, "and better at keeping her weaknesses hidden away."
A long silence passed before the princess left him. He looked about before continuing home, ensuring he wasn't followed as he usually does. Seemed that violence might have been half effective at keeping these ponies away, but striking their herts where they hurt was the best way to ward them.
She didn't bother him much after that, but there was another occurrence, one that sparked his interest. Another scent ws magically programmed into his nose and he found himself leaving the stone chisel and unfinished bunch of arrowheads on the long table he made himself, climbing out of his cabin with his spear and into the lookout tree, he saw the pillars of smoke and some encampments at the foot of the mountain, that's what the banners and white smoke told him, the black pillars were different.
He reached to his left pockets and pulled a spyglass, looking closer. Sure enough, the familiar mythical creatures that he helped Aeternia demolish were there, Minotaurs. They were razing the castle the ponies built.
"Another slice of home."
He returned his vision enhancer and climbed back down, returning to his cabin and finishing his new arrowheads. The next day, he exited his home to search for well dried wood, or wood he could potentially dry out if it didn't have too many knots and he decided to use the aspen trees, cutting them down and into firewood shaped blocks was a painfully slow process, but an abundance of arrows was important for any self respecting scout.
He heard a flap in the air and drew his bow from his back, slotting an arrow and looking up. Celestia landed a couple yards away form him, the arrow trained for her skull.
He let the arrow loose and pulled another back, a shield blocked it same as it did with Luna.
"Arctus, I have come asking for a favor."
"Your war?"
"You can see it from here then. Minos declared war on us, they want out land and resources."
He pondered, but he already knew his answer, "I'll help, but only in the way I intend to."
He put the arrow away and the bow, all his gear was already on him, including some food. The scout approached her, "stay still," and climbed atop, "fly and I will ensure your permanent victory."
And Celestia took off, bearing with his heavy weight and heading back.
"What...what are you planning?"
"Aeternia's tactic of annihalition means the entire kingdom of Minos will crumble with minimal losses. I only need to begin observing first."
She was quiet for the rest of their flight and after Celestia flew over the city, where all the ponies were sheltered in her castle, he leapt, drawing his spear and landing atop a roof, looking at the minotaurs looting homes and such. Some were at the castle, yelling and making demands while making fun of them. Celestia had not even bothered to check in before he began his work.
The scout travelled the highway of roofs and saw an encampment at the entrance to the city, minotaurs were there relaxing and brawling. He knew how to deal with this kind of group, the over confident, half disciplined, greedy mercs. They were an army but they behaved more like a band of bandits with the sense to not backstab each other. He stood at the edge of the mountain, traveling further and fetching his spyglass, the encampment below was mostly empty, but he did see some high ranking officers there.
A plan was formed and he smiled, "time to begin the real work," he returned his spyglass and gripped his spear, dropping into the city alleys and searching homes none of them had yet to be in, amassing a great bit of gold, valuables, money, everythign he thought the minotaurs would be after and moved them to a single street to get some traffic from the minotaurs but not too much for him to handle.
And they came, lured by the money and finding a stash in a home. He murdered each one, arrow in the throat and reset the trap, after a couple of hours, he easily had stacked forty or more corpses and began a grueling tasks of mutliating them and leaving wounds that would show methods of torture or grizzly painful deaths. This was a tactic that scared all bandits into a corner. Some he even lopped limbs off of, but he saved all the blood he could. When his work was done, that night he placed the corpses around with blood everywhere all over the streets., that's when he met with Celestia at the castle, using his boots to climb into a window and demanding a guard take him to her, they were all informed of his assistance.
"Forty-six of them are dead, not much of a dent in their numbers, but I need your help with this next part. Your magic seemed very utilitarian where mine was meant for combat. Can you cast a spell to make noises louder?" She nodded, afraid of him from his first five words, and followed him as he beckoned with his hand and she took him to a ruined home that held a gagged and blindfolded minotaur.
"Arctus, this isn't-."
"Quiet, you are not going to question my methods. You should ensure no sound enters the castle tonight and cast that spell over this room," her horn lit and she quickly left.
And he ripped the gag out of the minotaur's mouth and it gasped.
"What the fuck?!" It bellowed.
"Hello, name's Arctus. A lot of people used to know me, they'd shiver in their boots at my name," he whispered in his ear, "we're putting on a show, so try not to pass out on me or make it too easy."
He heard some commotion at the camp, which wasn't too terribly far away from this building.
"I don't care who you are! Let me go!" The minotaur's voice rang over the whole city.
"You don't understand your current situation."
He took a throwing knife out and stabbed it hard into his knee, "we're doing this, no matter how much you scream. You're gonna regret coming here as some kind of fun afternoon activity."
He pulled on the knife, wrenching his flesh around before he pulled it out, the scream went through the night, "I'll break you and I'll keep breaking you. If you show enough endurance, I might even put you in a circus and make a model out of you."
More commotion at the camp and the patrols started, but the sound was coming from all over the city and he concealed this room well, it was a cellar after all. Arctus got his hatchet and pulled the blindfold off the minotaur's face, "now you're gonna watch."
"No...nobody is this cruel!" It shouted, already terrified.
Arctus sent the hatchet blade onto his leg, just below his femur before he put his gladius into the slot, letting the minotaur scream before he panted in pain.
Pop
His kneecap was wedged off, tendons tearing and the bone flew across the room and the victim...
sounded inhuman.
The scout had multiple minotaurs he also kidnapped and went through the whole night doing it, ensuring the minotaurs listened to the sounds of their comrades.
That morning, Arctus' body entered a new state, that in which Aeternia sent him to preface a war that would be won with a single battle. Sleep was not expected so his body would not even bother him with it.
The minotaurs, the next day, fled back down and went to the foothills below their city named Canterlot. He gave a silent chase and before any officers left their tents that morning, they were assailed by questions and concerns and notes of the torturing that continued through the night and the corpses butchered around the city.
To them, someone was torturing and slaughtering them under their patrol's noses and forced them to hear and find the evidence later.
So the minotaur officers set off to go to the main encampment all on their own in complete disbelief while the main force stayed at the camps. Arctus followed these officers back up and when they entered the city, they split off in pairs and with his own force, each pair died swiftly from his spear alone. He took pikes from their encampment in the city and spiked all the officers up along the path to the city.
He had snuck into a decorated tent in the main camp and slew the final commanding rank in the encampment below, tossing his body out the front flaps and disappeared away, observing with an unwavering focus.
The minotaurs had packed up tents and left, they were goin and Arctus was following, as he did, he poisoned them anytime they would come to rest, killing a few hither and thither and leaving only a dozen or so to return to the island from which they first arrived.
They called it Minos, there was a great fortress sitting upon it that liekly contained more of a force than them and they might be back, or it might be someone completely new. Arctus hurried back to Canterlot, taking a total of two days to reach as opposed to the four days to track them across this continent and to the ocean.
He strolled into the city, ponies looking at him with inquisitive stares while the guards were terrified and shook in fear, purely on the rumors.
He strolled to the castle and the guards didn't even stop him, they knew him and led him to the throne room upon his verbal pressure.
"Arctus!" Celestia rushed down from the platform and hugged him tight, "you drove them away!"
"I see you cleaned up the mess I made that's...I was not done fighting this battle," he did not return the gesture, "now I need to go and seal their fate," he sighed.
"What...what do you mean? They're gone!"
"They left with no commanding officers, I bought you some time for another force to come and I would have just repeated until they gave up, but now...I'm doing the hardest assignment in destroying them."
When Aeternia was stretched thin, nobody knew except those doing the work because they still managed to get it done without any other power knowing if they were truly weak at that moment.
"What...what do you mean?" She let him go.
"I'm going to their fortress."
"To Minos?!" There were nobles in the throne room, likely complaining about the state of the city.
"To dismantle them. I can afford a single day of rest. Do not remove the corpses from their abandoned camp at the foothills or the killed officers that are impaled on the path up to Canterlot," the nobles were whispering and one even spoke aloud.
"Princess Celestia! You associate yourself with an...an animal that murders?!"
"He saved Canterlot! All on his own!" She defended him.
"After this, I'm returning to my woods."
He left the throne room and coerced a guard into finding an unclaimed sutie for him to sleep and so he slept, setting out that night.
Another day later, he arrived at a quiet dock that gave way to the fortress that was called Minos. Somehow the entire structure was built of iron. He stole a small rowboat and made his way around the island, approaching from a place unmarked and going as far as pulling the boat ashore and hiding it in a nearby grove. Arctus took his bow out.
Inhale
Exhale
"For the glory of the Scouts and of Aeternia," he whispered and began rubbed the wards on the inside of his boots, silently running up the fortress to find a completely unmanned section of the fortress' battlements. On the inside, there was a sprawling town made of mostly wood building, but an iron castle was against a mountain side far from him.
Arctus went about the battlements and began going across the town, keeping to any shadows as he kept through. Not a soul was outside for the most part, but there were taverns that minotaurs were being awfully rowdy in and around. The scout made it with little difficulties to the fortress, where the actual guard was.
He kept to a shadow, observing their patrol habit from below before rubbing that same symbol on his boots again and climbed up, sneaking past their lines and began entering buildings, first discovering an armament storage behind he snapped many arrows out of munitions barrels himself before putting them back and sealing it. Not a soul was bothering him, as if they believed themselves to be incredibly secure. The metallic nature of the walls, especially with their thickness, would serve to be a means of sound isolation. Arctus was taking larger weapons, poleaxes, spears, and more and snapping the handles or breaking the heads off with his hatchet. A true warrior would know they were still deadly weapons, but he was on an any amount of damage done is necessary mindset.
He even managed to bend the blades of a couple swords before he exited the armament shed and began invfestigating more buildings, ensuring he was never in a spot of compromisation. It wasn't long before he found the guard barracks where most were sleeping, he stayed close to a minotaur in one of the large bunks of the giant room, "kraujavimas kraugerys maras."
He kept his hand close to the minotaurs stomach, inflicting disease through magic, a contagious one to spread throughout them while he whispered the dark words.
He left them, two stops done, but he still ahd the main task of killing those in charge around here and he got to work, approaching the giant iron structure built into the mountain he went on a hunt, quietly dispatching sentires and patrols, ensuring something was still in place so nobody would notice something out of the oridinary. It was quiet and he was making it quieter.
It wasn't long before he was certain he slashed all the necks of important persons here, his internal timer was telling him he still have four or five hours until daylight and he took to the town, scoping out homes, looking for where the valuables were and murdering more.
Every merchant. Every noble. Every minotaur with money. Every family member present of those people. Every heir to a rich estate. It was a clean sweep and when the sky began to light up, that's when he made his exit, going back over the battlements and leaving with his boat, sunrise coming as he paddled over the water and back to land.
"For the glory of me," he smiled at the city as he heard shrieks of surprise faintly on the wind.
And he was back in Canterlot, seeing rebuilding efforts well under way and a lot of temporary structures up. The ponies were now in visible fear of him, he did come back with a little blood still on.
The moment he walked into the throne room, Celestia sent ponies out, "a detachment came and they left...what did you do on the footpath?"
"Nothing you want to see. In Aeternia, we Scouts are taught that we're sinners, we're all tainted black form the day we were chosen and agreed to continue to train as a Scout."
"That doesn't seem fair."
"I agreed to being a sinner for the wellbeing of my nation, my family, my citizens. I had a place of command above all other officers and politicians. We had to make use of people and their connections to make our missions successful. This is a role I am happy playing, my sole purpose is to kill those who would rise and threatne my nation."
"Arctus...you are aware your nation does not exist here, right?"
He nodded, "and it doesn't seem like my body normally ages here in this world. Aeternia might be across worlds, but I'll return to it someday. I'll take the minotaurs off your footpath and dismantle their camp myself. That detachment that left was killed on their way back to Minos, wasn't even me, some markings of a beast did it all."
Arctus was staring at her and she smiled, "thank you, on behalf of all my little ponies, thank you for protecting Equestria," she bowed to him.
"I didn't do it for you," he took a river stone he had, flattest he could find along the way, already with a good bit of roughness to it and began sharpening his knives and hatchet right there, "I did it for me, for my sake."
"Wh-what?" She was confused, nopony would throw themself before harm's way that readily for another to serve their own ambitions.
"Taking down a kingdom, that's our sole purpose as Scouts. We get a generous compensation while we're not in the field, but we don't really live until we're in the field because of the years in oru youth we spend in the wilds, learning and training away."
Celestia's jaw was slightly parted, "I did it so I could live again and feel my heart beat the entire time I sowed havoc in their little city."
"And they'll be gone soon, completely dissolved. There's not a merchant alive, not a rich or person of office left to rise to leadership. There's also a plague and a lack of weapons to see revenge with," he was still sharpening away, finishing his knives and working on his hatchet, "Minos will crumble like many have before the unseen might of Aeternia, before the might of Scout Arctus."
"But...don't you miss...friends?"
"We only had each other as friends as we gathered nightly and told tales of how we ended sprawling townships and rising fiefdoms."
"But...did you do anything together?"
"No, we're loners. We like it that way."
"Then you've never had a real friend," he stopped sharpening his hatchet, stowing it away along with the river stone.
He looked to her pink eyes, "and what of it?"
She was quiet for a while before she spoke, "it's a happiness you've been missing out on."
And he didn't have a response.
"Would you...like to try to be friends?" She posed.
"Look at your subjects, they do not approve of your interactions with me, they consider me unsavoury."
"Which is honestly insulting, incredibly so given the black I paint upon myself for their sake," he mentioned with some venom.
"Give them some time, I'll explain who you are."
He paused, recognition was something that was also a piece of the cake, a slice from home, "I can allow that, it might make it easier for me to acquire supplies rather than making new materials day in and day out."
She smiled, "I can have them deliver to the forest for you."
"Not to my home."
"We'll make it a drop off box at the edge of the woods, the Everfree Forest is too dangerous for my subjects to be entering. You do a good job at keeping it somewhat tame."
He smiled, gratitude was refreshing and a cornerstone of his identity, "well...I would be fine with that arrangement."
"So, friends?"
"I suppose, Celestia," he addressed her very informally, a notion she found refreshing, "but I have a question."
"Yes?"
"What happened to Luna? Why did you leave the castle in the forest, was it me?"
And Celestia began to cry quietly, those wounds were not healed yet after all.
Yep, he struck that same nerve again, but this time not in an effort to make her leave.
"Listen, I'm taking up a mantle of security of my own wishes, understand? I know you have that talented mage, I've done some research, but this is not something I've found."
Whenever a scout was in fear of an upcoming mission the others would try to comfort him by dueling and assuring them of their skills, some would even go out of the way to secretly assist, this is his attempt at that.
"I...the memory is a little fresh. She...was consumed by envy and turned into that pony you saved me from back in the other castle," she spoke.
"I was just investigating the commotion, a matter of circumstance that I was there and she had noticed me."
"Regardless, I thank you for it. I banished her to the moon."
Arctus stood in thought, magic like that but she needed help from him. It was a peculiar situation, why not just banish all creatures who opposed her to the moon? But he was thinking in absolute power and authority, the way of Aeternia, this place was not his beloved nation after all.
"I see, that's an incredible magic then. In that supply drop off box, you are more than welcome to leave any messages of events you'd like me to investigate or threats to neutralize," he offered, "that will suffice in keeping my skills sharp for when I return home and allow me to give back for your generosity so I owe no favors."
"You think very differently from us, Arctus. I hope...our arrangement will benefit us both."
"It will, I'll also investigate on my own if something catches my eyes or ears."
"Don't attack without my approval."
He sighed, "fine. My forest is still off limits for any ponies."
He walked toward the throne room exit, "wait!"
He turned back around, "why don't you take today to rest here? You deserve it."
Arctus smiled, "I'd...like that. May I walk around while you continue court?" She nodded and he continued leaving.
"I may join you later."
He still exited and began roaming the halls to make note of the new place he was informally serving, learning halls into a mental map and it didn't take him long to become fluent in it. Aeternia used the corpses of rising kingdoms to teach scouts this skill and teach them the proper stealth required as it forced them to clear bandits by themselves when they took up in those husks.
It was only an hour and he had put it all together without having been everywhere and even denoted there was a hidden room near the library, but didn't bother to pry.
So the Scout took to the town, assured that Celestia would no doubt be still in court. Ponies were continuing rebuilding efforts but some were still mopping the horrific red off buildings and he decided to help the guards doing so. Some killings required it in case you still needed a great amount of stealth on a mission so it was a skill picked up by necessity.
"So...you're her new pet project?" One of the guards spoke after a while.
"Celestia?"
"Princess Celestia."
"She's your princess, not mine. Nobody but duty rules over a Scout."
"Scout?!" One of the guard's laughed, "that's your rank? That's what you do? You better be-."
"I've killed people who wield more power than her," silence from the third syllable, "as far as her pet project, I'm simply helping her as an exchange of services."
"She's gonna domesticate you."
"I'm not an animal, do not address me as such, you can call me Arctus. We're cleaning up the fruit that chased away the minotaurs, be grateful your ruler protected all of you from the horror that night."
He had spent a while helping them rebuild and clean the dried blood off the streets, but ti would still take them a while to fully recover. He had stopped when he got news Celestia sought him in the castle so he reported there.
"A task?"
"Yes, come along," and he followed her through the castle, he was getting hints on where they were going, but confirmed when they entered the dining hall, seeing platters of many different foods laid out, "your task is to have dinner with me."
He was used to foraging for fruits and vegetables, so having farm crops was a treat, but he noticed there were not calorie and protein dense meats, as expected of an equine race. He resorted to what little jerky he had left to recover his muscles.
And he devoured a lot of food himself to try and recoup the way his body burns off calories as the training he went through changed his metabolic rate to account for the abilities demanded of his body.
"You...you weren't supposed to eat everything I didn't. I just had a bunch made because I don't know what you eat."
"My diet might terrify you, but it's consisted of a large protein and calorie intake."
"How large?"
"An estimated four thousand calories each meal. We all usually just eat throughout the day."
Celestia was a bit taken back, "that's a lot of food."
"Our body's are demanding for what we do, we have to recoup from any assignments in accordance with that."
"Are all Scouts of Aeternia so formal and serious?" She smirked at him.
"At times, I'm still evaluating you and your nation, so I'll be guarded and serious," he commented.
"Seems a bit...sad."
He shrugged her comment away, "I'm using the suite I laid claim to the last time I was here. Is that permissible?"
She nodded, "that's fine."
In the morning, Arctus had resigned to head home and make his presence scarce. The ponies were not a race used to the displays of violence and destruction that he did. Even most people in Aeternia would have winced at a Scout's work. He left without any farewells and returned to his forest in short order. The best exercise around was with the unorthodox monsters the forest held and he needed to return to keep the expectation that he was hunting them for sport. He did make sure the footpath to the city was cleared of his atrocities.
Arctus did explore it quite often and came to learn the forest very well, even the properties of some plants.
This return to his cabin was short, even after the journey. He loaded up on more food and water before leaving once again. This time the Scout headed South, discovering an almost endless desert in just a couple of hours past some canyons, "ecology doesn't make much sense here."
Arctus did he a goal in mind. If he was to be in a world alone, no return to Aeternia in sight then tempering his spear to that of a master Scout's weapon would be permitted. So he needed an active volcano and a mighty creature.
Minotaurs would not suit that purpose. He needed something special.
So he took some weeks to go traveling about, returning to his cabin every so often to collect supplies. He constructed his own map of Equestria and even some land masses beyond, but he made a special note of the giant bird he saw in the northern frozen wastelands. He even sent a note back once he returned detailing a rising kingdom he noted to the South, two actually, and the ice bird. Celestia felt it appropriate to make a trip to the forest and even waited for him.
"Hello, Arctus. Have you been enjoying the books?"
"I have, they are a great source or knowledge on how things operate here. You also tell some magnificent tales. I do have some mentions about the note I sent you."
She smiled, pleased she could add value to his life, "I'm glad. Would you mind showing me where you live so we can talk proper?"
He paused.
For a long while.
"If you aren't comfortable or don't feel safe-."
"No, I do," he pulled paper and a quill they gave him from his pack and did the best translation from magic runes to their language as he could.
"Read this. I want you to promise me you will not tell anything where I live, or even clues."
"That's...okay."
Celestia read over it confused, "now speak with me."
"Paslaptis pasižadėjimas mirtis."
Both of them spoke together, "now you may come," he turned around and she followed him into the woods, "that spell is a Scout tool. If you ever divulge information of where my home is, you'll be dead on the last word of that sentence," he heard Celestia outrage for a second with a hoof stomp.
"I...that's fine. Am I able to discuss it with you?"
"Yes, because it keeps it a secret."
They chose not to speak while Arctus traveled, head on a swivel, leading Celestia through the woods without a single encounter from any of the monsters in the woods and made it to the clearing he based his cabin at.
"My sister reported seeing you here a lot," she commented openly.
"And she never once found me," he used his spear to pull up the moss cover and descended down, Celestia following him. Arctus had since made the opening wider so he could get materials in faster, but it was still small of Celestia's long body, she managed to get inside though.
"You had...all this right under our muzzles?"
"Yes, I'm an expert in stealth, even in stealth camping but this is more like living. You let me get really comfortable," he smirked in pride.
Celestia grimaced at the still hanging jerky, "yeah...I'm an omnivore, it's what my species does. I have no intention of eating sentient, intelligent creatures however."
"A lot of people from Aeternia won't even eat magical creatures like griffons or chimeras, but we in the field don't typically get to make that choice," Celestia's face contorted more, "apologies, I'll drop the topic," he sat at his table, reviewing everything in his pack and taking all his gear off him, performing a routine check and maintenance.
He still held a smile while he went through his things, the supplies they sent allowed him to make repairs to clothing and even the mail under his tunic, "Arctus, we were discussing..."
He pipped, "oh, right, sorry. You can take a rest on my bed...more like a cot," he pointed to the wooden raised bed with home made boxes under, it was covered with dead moss, but even that was cover by some furs and had furs loosely laying around for actual warmth during the frigid nights in winter. Celestia laid on it, fitting nicely, "I had a question, but first two things to note. The kingdoms to the South, one doesn't seem like it would be an issue for many...many years."
"Years?"
"Oh sorry, a great amount of moons, that's your time count here. They don't even seem that violent, just very rpoud, so you have plenty of time before push comes to shove and you eliminate the-."
"Eliminating isn't my chief concern, I'd rather ally with them if I could," Arctus stopped tinkering and looked to her, giving his full attention.
"I've not heard that word...or heard that notion. What is ally?"
"You've never...that is Aeternia never had an ally?"
"You mean a friend or a nation we trusted?" Celestia nodded and he shook his head, "no. We're a very proud nation. We've crushed all that came before us and all that came after. We have no allies because we don't take chances or risks such as those."
"Mmmm, you should. It can be a very beneficial situation."
He paused for a bit, "it could save some soldier's lives but it would cost more in extended future for Aeternia," that also went against his core culture, but so was what he did here now, "We make all the resources we need," he turned back, making a new layer of chain mail, bending the metal wire he asked and cutting it to make a pair of chausses...weaker than the ones he had in Aeternia in his quarters, but they would protect him none the less.
That was partially true, Aeternia made all the tools, weapons, food, everything it needed. Yet it took from those it crushed in order to thrive, replenish its resource stores, and even reach the place it was now. Arctus hadn't lived through the grittier years, but he had read about them. Wood was taken, chopped from houses, carted back to Aeternia, sawn from other nations trees. No kingdom had the nerve to attack Aeternia directly.
"Maybe I can show you that you're missing some with that thinking. What about the other kingdom?"
"Maybe. The other kingdom, it's the kind to be worried about, it's conquering small little places and amassing power an armies."
"It's not too late to change their mind either," Celestia noted, "there's no need to attack either of them."
"Celestia! You have no idea what they're capable of! This is something we need to prevent! Aetern-," he caught himself, "Equestria could be threatened anytime by this rise, it's key to eliminate the possibility of these threats immediately!"
His eyes were filled with a want for destruction, and something else, a new thing Celestia had yet to see.
"Equestria, Arctus? I thought this was just a transactional relationship and you were to take orders," he grit his teeth while she smiled, "fighting, destroying, and more unsavory activities are in your blood, but there is something that's been sealed away," she nudged him with her hoof, "are you concerned?"
He stared intently into her prying eyes, "yes. I, and every Scout, has a strong love for the nation they defend. We had no formal authority above us and we were free to attack as we saw fit or were informed to. We would pick up assignments listed for us at our capital, by the dynasty authority which was only a group effort of the influential families in Aeternia to create a center of security that would alert all our groups to issues and potential threats."
"Were you an absolute authority?"
"We were, the Scouts were credited for most of the nation's security so we were given the kind of authority to issue any orders. It wasn't a power we wielded often, we were much too busy actually fighting for Aeternia," Celestia hummed at his words.
"I think I understand you more now, Arctus," a wide smile graced her lips, "you're very noble and admirable. You are incredibly devoted and headstrong. We're friends so it is important to understand one another."
"Then...you seek peaceful options?" He asked.
She nodded.
He went back to tinkering, "you could always make a show of force. That's how we handled the bigger nations. Draw your line in the sand and make sure every one...pony...thing understands the force behind that line. It prevented any kind of conflict," he mentioned.
"That might be worth investigating, but I would still offer an open hoof to anypony."
"If you can...could you have them send more of this wire? It's helpful in making chain mail...and some large sheets of metal...and coal if you could."
"That's a lot, are you planning to craft something?"
"Just making some armor I used to have. I can't enchant it like it was, but it'd be nice to have it again."
"I'll see what we can do. You are welcome to come by the castle to see me, Arctus."
"I appreciate the invitation, but I'll decline."
"That wasn't an invitation, you can just visit whenever you like," he peeked at her.
"That's...awfully trusting of you."
"I don't see the reason to be distrusting of you."
A small grin formed while he worked the metal in front of him, "Celestia, I have a question about the North."
"You went up to the Frozen North? Why? It's uninhabitable."
"There was a giant elemental there, some kind of ice bird, have you see it?"
"The Glacegere? Leaves a heavy hail as it flies?" Arctus nodded, "yes, I've seen it. It contributes to the harsh conditions there."
"Do you know...where it lives?" He asked.
"Are you planning to hunt it?" She questioned him and he pointed to his spear.
"I should, I think it's time for my promotion to a master scout regardless of Aeternia's approval."
"So it's a ceremony for you?" He nodded and she paused, something pressing her mind.
"It's a ceremony to acknowledge the best Scouts, those who have made a successful life out of what we do. A lot die young."
"How old are you, Arctus?"
"Twenty-nine years, most don't make it to twenty. I'm not sure how old that makes me in your time. I was scheduled to have my ceremony by now."
"I'll accompany you to Glacegere, it might attack us, but I think with you there that it will be safe enough."
"Give me a couple of weeks, I'll need to prepare some more gear before I go...and if you are serious about coming along," he looked at her, "travel light and I can be sure to protect you."
The direct attention and seriousness caused a heat in Celestia's face, "I-I'll make sure of it."
"Good, please, I need to go out foraging to ensure we have what we need,"
It had been three weeks before he sent Celestia the note in the supply box mentioning he was ready and the next day at dawn, she showed up.
"Perfect," he climbed out of his hovel, putting on his equipment after he did so, not a backpack in sight. He noticed Celestia did pack light, "good timing and well equipped. I made some thing for you as well," he opened her saddlebag, finding it to be empty and put in a couple furs as well as one designed as another bedroll. The Scout hooked a canteen and a bunch of dried fruit and berries from a box onto it, stitching them in a little so they would not be easily removed.
"You said travel light..."
"I didn't want you to show carrying a bunch of things you wouldn't need and leave them at my home, so I made everything for you which is why I needed a couple weeks," he was already in the new chainmail chausses he made, padded to keep them quiet.
Arctus reached behind him and pulled his spear from his back, gripping it lightly, "did you eat?" She nodded, "then we're headed off."
She was impressed he could make all of the things he did for her in just three weeks time, but then again she didn't understand his processes at all.
But he was moving through the forest with gusto, head turning about and asked her to keep quiet until they made it out, which was one a few hours. He gait did not relax however.
"Arctus...how long do you think this journey will be?"
"Two days at most. I had the thought last night that you could just teleport yourself if you wished, why not do so?"
"Because traveling with you will be more enjoyable."
Celestia was finding his company refreshing to all the official business she had to take care of day in and day out.
"I suppose my company is different enough than your regular interactions. I must be interesting to you."
"Somewhat, but not because of what you do. I find who you are much more interesting," something he definitely didn't pick up on.
"I don't think I'm anything too unique. I just keep to myself."
"But that's exactly why you are special. I've never thought of somepo-one like you existing and I enjoy talking with you and learning more."
"I share that notion. You're open minded and it makes for some surprising conversations," he heard a noise and halted Celestia in her tracks. The spear was already point in the direction and he saw a deer stand after laying in the grassland they were in.
He continued moving and the animal fled from them, "apologies."
"You're more alert and weary than some of my guards."
"That sounds like an issue."
"Well," Celestia trailed off and their conversation came to an end as they travelled except for the occassional check ups and pauses to arrange gear. He had made good time and they passed by the growing town next to the Everfree Forest and Canterlot before they reached some rolling hills past the mountains.
"Perhaps I should have met you, saved some travel time," he was already laying supplies he brought with him out, which included a large fibrous canopy that he weaved himself on the off chance there was rain. His pulled the carved stick out and linked the ends together, slotting them.
"And miss precious time with you?"
"You do have a kingdom to lead."
"Ah, they can wait, you're the priority now," he paused from staking in the wooden rods and looked to her.
"How...am I the priority?" Celestia was very used to her meaning not conveying with him and this was no exception, but it did spark his curiosity.
"I..uh," she faltered in her words and knew her cheeks tinted, "you're the one leading us through and I did choose to come just for you."
He finished staking in the six rods before he placed the plant canopy above, tying the fibers he left hanging through some holes he drilled out by hand in the wood rod tops, "for me? Why? I do find it enjoyable to have someone with me out in the wilds, but why come just for me?"
"I...want to nurture our relationship," in a way the princess was being more true to herself than she let on.
"I see. I think that's a good course of action," and the killer was being just as naïve as he was.
And next came bedrolls after he laid out a suiting plant mat, "you come prepared, Arctus."
"I only brought the necessities. I know we can forage for some food well enough in these lands so I had no intention of bringing much with me," he finished splaying the bedrolls out and guided Celestia to hers by his hand, "I had to modify a standard bedroll for you. The way we model ours are for human bodies. Go ahead and lay down on it first."
The princess laid on her side, the bottom and one side of it was stitched together, "shuffle yourself down," and she do so until her hooves touched the bottom of it. Arctus reached over her, bringing one side to close on the other side and let her feel each button as he guided her hoof to them, "you gave me those buttons so I used them for repairs and making this," he smiled, "this arrangement is working better than I thought at first."
"G-good, I'm glad you think so."
Arctus got into his bedroll, night was approaching and it was already dusk, the sunlight was leaving quite quickly. His was full stitched on three sides, he only needed to put his feet in and then shuffle all the way down into the bedroll.
"Arctus...you know, even though we haven't done anything, I'm having a lot of fun," Celestia smiled at him.
"Fun...I haven't had fun in a while outside of my usual activities. Maybe we'll go traveling across the wilds more than just this once."
Arctus awoke according to his circadian rhythm, seeing it was still night, but feeling well rested he began to take his camping structure down and pack away his bedroll, doing so quietly. Everything he made for travelling has stealth designed into it, that was so he could sleep even at the foot of a wall without being detected. After he had everying up but the plant mat and Celestia's bedroll he crouched next to her, gently laying a hand on her side and moving it about.
The alicorn stirred.
"Celestia, it's about morning, we have some more traveling ahead of us," and she awoke at his voice, slowly, but then all at once, clambering out of her bedroll, "good to see you have energy in the mornings," when she was out, he focused his attention to packing away her bedroll and the plant flooring. The sun was slowly rising.
"Good morning, Arctus. Did you sleep well?"
"As best as I always do, was the bedroll comfortable?"
"It was, it was warmer than any of the sheets or blankets in the castle."
"I'm sure you know why," he didn't want to broach the topic too much. He finished he preparations and drew his spear, setting Celestia's saddlebag upon her again.
"That's oddly respectful of you to not discuss something that taboo of my culture, but please don't censor yourself."
"I'm not, if there is something I think worth to discuss, that you don't already know, I'll tell you."
"Even if you think it will disturb me?"
He nodded and waved for her to follow him along.
"You waste no words."
"It's a formality of my training," he answered, "and maybe a product of our constant isolation."
He knew about where they were headed, he of course planned to leave Celestia at the spot he would truly battle it, but needed to ask her where it nests.
"I'm curious what your hobbies are."
"Of the ones you like...I suppose reading and storytelling, that's the pleasures we were allowed in our field."
"We should expand that."
The pair made idle chatter while they traveled and they did reach the Frozen North where Arctus put on the thick coat he brought along and gave one to Celestia to wear, modified for her limbs.
"This is so soft!"
"It's gonna keep you warm, no matter what," he boasted, "that's why I needed all that time for the most part."
"I can tell! I can't really even feel the snow and ice!"
It wasn't long before he made his way around the edge of the Frozen North, climbing mountains with Celestia and he reached the location he spotted before. A volcano. Celestia let the coat hang on her back, she was too warm here for it. Arctus took off the fur on his own body and laid it next to Celestia at the edge of the heat, he drew his spear, holding the head directly over the lava.
And the tip of the spear, blued, began to glow a deep red.
"What's...what's your spear doing?" Celestia asked, "and why are we at the Red Eye volcano?"
"The spear was enchanted so it would maintain sharpness and need less maintenance in case we got stuck out in the field for months. It's also possesses anti-magic properties, a gift from the volcano is was forged with. It can still recognize this hot red earth core as magical as well...which means my ascendance should not be an issue here."
"What are you planning?"
"Is the Glacegere as much a nuisance as I'm thinking?"
"It's caused sudden winters all over Equestria," Celestia answered.
"And where is its nest?"
Celestia pulls the map from his pakc with her horn, marking a location with a yellow x from her magic, "not too far form here, just further down this plateau at that mountain," she pointed her hoof.
Arctus nodded and went to the lip of the volcano, dipping the tip of his spear in and it kept the deep red glow despite the molten earth falling off. Lava began to drip from it of its own accord, "when you see me hauling my ass back...you should find a place to hide away at or at least be prepared to seek shelter."
He began jogging off, not bothering to fetch his coat again, "and don't interrupt our battle."
Celestia didn't protest him, but she couldn't help but feel bad for the creature, Arctus boasted and she saw him commit incredible acts of battle and he stood a chance of besting it, but...he could also come out grievously wounded, a second reason for the sadness she felt.
The alicorn sat onto her haunches.
Arctus had met the mountain and was scaling it with one hand and his legs as his right arm braced his spear that was still dripping lava off. He was pulling himself in little jumps and it wasn't long before he met a cave and could hear a shriek within, that same bird screech he heard last time he saw Glacegere. He swiped the enchanted marks on the inside of his boots one at a time and sprinted in to find an egg sitting in a nest made of ice and the magical bird peering at it, on a solid head, the body was formed of winds, ice, snow, and other components he didn't understand of this magic filled world.
He sprinted to the egg, snatching the deep blue orb up, the thing about the size of his head before he sprinted back out, the bird's beak missing himas he went and soon enough he was running down the cliff he climbed up and back toward Celestia when the bird broke free from its den, screeching into the air as it dove after him.
"Yes!" He shouted, it was a long time since even in Aeternia that he fought a paragon of power.
Celestia heard and then saw him sprinting back, the bird just above him. he pushed the egg deep into the snow during a flip and drew his spear, facing the beast as snow covered the hole the egg was in. He was challenging it and the avatar of blizzards did not even spare a glance at Celestia, it was enraged at the human in front of him.
"Celestia! You stay hidden!" He bashed at the bird's beak with the rounded boot of his spear, jumping a little at it himself.
"Laiptelis oro skraidyti!" He shouted and under his feet yellow, transparent platforms appeared, letting him run up a staircase to the bird and slash at it, the creature shrieking and flying off, blood trailing behind its head. Arctus kept running through the air after it and it did circle around at him and sent a giant hail stone at him, impaled upon his spear and it kept coming, about to dive onto him.
The makeshift hammer swung about, knocking the bird out of the sky, the animal scrambling to rebalance itself after being knocked and the lava dripping spear came free.
Arctus leapt at it, jumping off the light platform he was one and drew his gladius, nailing it into the beak of the avian creature and hanging from it while it regained balance, it was flying erratically and attempting to snap at him
"Arctus!" Celestia called, her horn lit.
"No!" His voice was as loud as Luna's could get, "this is my glory!"
And with his spear in the other hand he drove the head into the birds neck, it quickly losing the ability to fly and plummeted. Arctus had planed this descent and rotated the bird with a swing of his feet and tore the gladius free, he now rode on the head of the bird whose ice body was disappearing while it head toward the volcano.
"Arrrrctus!"
The bird touched the magma and the Scout's sweat evaporated before it even left his brow and the volcano had a single boom and a prompt eruption that threw him through the air.
"Lengvas dugninis nusileidimas," Arctus spoke aloud and as he approached the snow he slowed, landing softly, Celestia came to him and pointed at the volcano.
Lava was spewing out before it slowly froze solid, but the deep red of the magma remained, signlaing it was still hot though frigid, snow began to cover it and hide it away. They shivered.
A new blue liquid dripped from Arctus' spear, signaling a change and the blackened finish from the center of it was gone, replaced with a deep red and the edges were blued steel.
"Arctus...how..how reckless were you?" Celestia pulled her fur coat onto her body, fitting it snugly, she looked at him with a silent fury.
"Reckless? I am not reckless, only empty of fear. The gamble you saw was planned, I don't like drawing out my battles," he fit his coat over himself and dug in a remembered spot in the snow, pulling the large blue egg out.
"I...you need to be careful," she firmly spoke.
"I...I know we can travel back," he picked his pack of camping supplies up, hookind it in appropriate spots over his body, "but can we teleport to your castle instead? Somewhere relatively private maybe?" He asked and Celestia changed from fury to curiousity before she looked at the egg.
She nodded and teleported both of them to the suite he sometimes used in the castle, where he promptly but the egg onto the bed, "I'm not sure if it'll hatch but...if it does what will you do?"
"I might need some help, but I plan to raise it," he looked to see a red faced Celestia, "apologies for asking, but would you mind helping me with it if it does hatch somehow?"
"You-you don't have to apologize, it's okay to ask friends for help and of course I will," she smiled warmly, "I have no idea of its incubation period, but I can probably call a farmer to check and see if the egg is valid."
Arctus nodded, taking his coat off and hanging it on the appropriate rack before putting his supplies away in an empty drawer.
Arctus took his gladius off along with his hunting knife and hatchet and put them away as well, even his chain chausses came off, his chainmail and tunic stayed along with his spear.
"So, what typically happens after a Scout ascends?" Celestia asked.
"Well, I wanted to firs ask you if I can make this suite officially mine."
"Of course!" Celestia exploded with glee, "we're all lucky and glad to have you here."
"I think you mean only you, your subjects think I'm trouble."
"They'll come around," Celestia was already hugging him while Arctus stood, feeling a little awkward.
"Is...this a hug or embrace?"
"Oh sorry!" She let go quickly, "lost myself a little."
"That's okay, I'm just unfamiliar with the practice."
"Every time you say something is unfamiliar or you didn't do it or that you're not used to it," she sighs as she walks to the balcony, "it makes me a little sad. It paints a clearer picture of how much harder life used to be for you."
"It's considerably easier here, that's true. Traveling anywhere is much safer," he commented.
"Arctus...what happened with your spear?"
He took his weapon from his back again and the blue liquid dripped off, leaving a lighter blue flame on the floor for a second, "I've had it for a couple of years and I've not once seen a living Master Scourt's weapon. Every trainee has to go an fetch the lava and bring it back down the mountain to the smith at the base for their title weapon," he hefted his spear, "but a Master Scout's weapon is reforged themself by killing a great beast and dipping their weapon with the slain monster into a volcano of their choice."
"That...that's incredibly dangerous."
"It's not uncommon to hear Scouts die for that achievement. I've never seen what a Master Scout's weapon can do...I imagine the blued steel of Mount Reyhort still contains anti magic properties and makes those wounds that have to heal naturally, but," he focused, letting what little mana he had left into the spear and the tip burst with the light blue flame, the ceiling melting some while ice formed over it, "it could be a high temperature freeze now. It'll need some investigating."
"Try not to go around waving it in the castle, the maids might hate you for ruining the floors," Celestia had a small laugh while he put his weapon back to its holster.
"I know I'm scary, but...what about you," he asked, "you seem pretty special, don't you have any kind of serious magic?"
Celestia smiled and pushed him to the balcony and showed him the setting sun, "this is what I do," and the sun slowly went below the horizon, the moon and stars replacing it.
Jaw open, he looked to the alicorn with a completely different respect.
"You move the sun and moon and stars?!" He pointed to the night sky.
Celestia wouldn't show it and she sure wouldn't acknowledge it, but she was enjoying this kind of attention from him. He was someone who didn't see her as a ruler and protector after all.
"Mmmhm," she hummed in response, "my sister was intially in charge of the night and would move the moon with me, but..."
Arctus went back inside, opening drawer after drawer until he found a quill, some ink and paper. He began drawing on it, "so, we've done a lot of observations on the night sky and the sun to ensure we can use them as accurate traveling guides," he spoke while his fingers went about on the paper, abandoning the quill altogether. As advanced as Aeternia was, he was stubborn and refused to write with modern utensils. He preferred charcoal, so he was fingerpainting with ink and sometimes his nails, putting down the most up to date model of astronomy that he had seen.
"In my world, Loke, we suspect that the Sun is massive and constantly giving light from its fire and moves on its own, but not always in a predictable way. It will slowly set in a counterclockwise motion, moving from west to the south to the east to the north and do it all over again during the span of a year, slowly making progress. Unless you've been paying attention to it, you can't use it as a reliable method to travel," he explained at length, Celestia captively listening and looking at the drawing he made.
"So...your Sun moves...on its own?" She confirmed, a little in disbelief.
"I guess that seems weird to someon-pony who's moved the Sun all her life," he painted the last night sky he could remember, "so, we have four moons that move much more reliably and using them and the placement of the stars, travel gets much easier without compasses or maps."
"I can change our night sky every night, but I typically keep the sun rising and setting in the same spot."
"I guess I've noticed that, it became something that guided me when I was first here," Arctus, finished with his diagram flung the remaining ink off the balcony and wiped his finger of it onto his hose.
"Guided by fate to the Princess of the Day," she smiled, holding her head high.
"Are you teasing me?" He asked.
"I guess I am."
"You just remember I'm not one of your subjects, I'm an equal."
"That's what I like about you, but are you sure you're an equal? I move the Sun after all."
"I see compliments should be given to you sparingly," he smiled, "was there anything I could help Equestria with?" He asked, changing topics.
"Actually, yes. There's been an issue, something I thought we could handle fine, but has become an issue," Celestia's attitude changed quickly, "an envoy came to me an informed me of his brother's treachery and plan to steal magic from Equestria, he's already begun so. A frontier town that was being built was drained of magic, all the ponies there are in a crippled state."
Arctus went into the room again and began equipping his weapons and tools once more, "Celestia...do you have any large arrows?"
"Large arrows? Can you specify?"
"Thick wooden shaft, about as large as an iron fence post, the head itself had four edges, jagged, looks a lot like a fishing spear."
"We don't, but I can see about getting them made. What do you use them for?"
"I know Equestria is full of magical creatures and some of those aren't nice, the large arrows assist with the bigger monsters," Arctus explained, "where did this envoy's brother go?"
"He's called Lord Tirek and last my scouts reported is that he is headed to Ponyville, that growing town near the Everfr-your forest."
Arctus drew his spear, hefting it in his grip as he pointed the business end down, "what's he look like?"
"A red centaur with horns and please don't kill him, we intend to lock him up in Tartarus, we may be able to change his mind and we don't want to just sadden his brother."
Arctus looked to the alicorn, "I've never captured someone before, but I'll see what I can do," he explained, "do the guards have maces?" Celestia lit her horn up.
"I've already called one up for you. You know he might be very powerful by now, right?" She lowered her head to look him in his steely green eyes.
"You've seen what just one arrow and an imbue spell did to your sister's beam of magic. I'll be fine," the door quickly opened and a guard came in carrying a mace with a rounded head, a spike at the top. Arctus grabbed the handle, the guard letting it go out of his mouth and he swung it a couple times, "hefty."
And he slotted it into the same spot where his hatchet hung from, "I'm off, I'll head to Ponyville and meet him in the outskirts there."
"He's going after Tirek?! Some of our best soldiers lost to him!" The guard who was still in the room spoke up.
"That's true, but Arctus is a Master Scout," Celestia defended him.
"You can't expect someone who observes and hides to have a better chance than they!"
"I'm a Master Scout of Aeternia-."
"He's impressive, I appreciate your concern, Guard Stonewall, but a Scout from where he is from means an entirely different field operation," Celestia hugged Arctus again and he patted her back with a hand, "go and be safe."
Arctus walked to the balcony, "I'm your trump card, Stonewall," and he leapt, rubbing the wards on his boots as he did and he began running down the tower and then later our of Canterlot.
It wasn't too long before he arrived in Ponyville from his sprint and the moment he did, the residents of the town locked up from his presence, making a big show of it as well. He drew his spear and began heading to the western outskirts, the predicted approach of the red centaur.
He didn't wait long until he saw him either, his shape was large on the horizon. It was Tirek, not only from the red hue, but the arms and hands gave it away. His horns were large with a ball of orange and red magic swirling and sparking between them.
Arctus made an approach at him, putting his spear away and drawing his bow, pulling two arrows into place. Just two or so minutes and they met, close enough to see each other's eyes.
"Lord Tirek, Equestria declares you a threat."
"Good! I'm here to suck it dry of all its magic!" He bellowed and reached to him, attempting to take the magic from the Master Scout.
"You'll find that I'm from another world, your rules don't apply. If you want to continue your conquest, I'm gonna have to lie dead at your feet."
"You take the words from my mouth, feeble creature, if you will not bow and submit you will die," a laser shot at Arctus from the horns of the tyrant.
"Kerai sunaikinti!" A spell he was well versed in. One of the two arrows hit the magical beam, stopping far before it reached him, the second swooped under and tagged the centaur, sinking into his skin.
Arctus but his bow away and drew out his new mace and gladius, rushing to the centaur who could only manage a magic bolt here or there, nothing a great as what he just released.
"What did you do to me?!"
He knocked the bolts away with the gladius, "took away some of what you stole," he approached and swung the mace at him, the centaur, still full of all kinds of pony magic was built like a wall and barely flinched at the impact, the gladius he swung managed to cut his skin but not as deep as it should have.
"Even without magic, I'm more than enough for you to handle!" His fist met Arctus' face and the Master Scout still stood, nose broken and only his head flung back, "what...are you?"
"A human, Master Scout Arctus," he dropped the gladius and mace, drawing his spear and ducking under the centaur's arm that swung for another punch, driving the head into his chest, not too deep, but the magic weapon easily cut his hide, "I don't fold like the ponies do."
He drew back and slashed at multiple parts of the centaur, leaping over him with the rounded butt of the spear making harmless contact against his shoulder. The legendary weapon made contact with the back of his head, cutting and slinging blood about. The spear found its home again on the warrior's back.
"How are you able to injure me?!" A ball of magic formed in between his horns again during his turn about to face Arctus,
His hand stretched to the ground, "plienas karka savininkas," the mace flung to him, hitting the centaur in the back of his head and interrupting his destructive casting.
Adapting to a situation was expected and this was no different. If a mace couldn't hurt him, he'd make the spot where he was hitting vulnerable. So the Scout leapt at him again, pounding the mace exceptionally hard at the wounds on his chest and arms.
"Celestia!" He shouted as loud as he could, having jumped and grabbed a horn, swinging the centaur to the ground on his side, a heel drove into Tirek's head wound before he pounded the mace. The destructive centaur was screeching in pain, "Celestia!"
He pounded again and the centaur was knocked out, Celestia had just then teleported down to him, as expected they were observing his battle.
"Arctus! Are you okay?!" She rushed, his face bloody from the broken nose he had received.
"Nothing new, where did you want to imprison him? Our task is not-."
"Tartarus," she teleported the unconscious centaur away, "and the guards waiting there will wheel him in. Your nose looks awful."
Arctus wasn't sure how it looked, but Celestia could see the blue and black on it, it was swelling and crooked. She paid plenty enough attention to know when he looked right and when he didn't, even down to his expressions. This was so far away from any semi-healthy look he had coming back to Canterlot, "let's get you to a hospital."
"You don't have healing magic?" Celestia shook her head.
"I don't think it would work well on you, it's intricately designed for pony bodies."
Arctus gathered his gladius and sheathed it once more, putting weapons away all across his body, despite the small skirmish, he knew he wasn't performing where he typically could in combat, that much was evident.
Turns out Equestria did have foes that could potentially rival him.
Celestia walked with him back to Ponyville, where the citizens did come outside upon seeing her, but kept their distance upon seeing him, "how...how good is medicine in Equestria?" Arctus was hesitant to ask, trauma care was the main kind of care given in Aeternia, given most could be healed away with magic or alchemy.
"Top notch, I think. Does Aeternia rely heavily on their magic arts?"
"We do, of course we have some who still practice older ways of healing, but they don't perform on any patients."
"Well, we're here so you can find out for yourself," she stood in front of the large building for a second before trotting inside, Arctus to her left.
"Welcome to..." the nurse at the reception desk went quiet for several seconds, "Princess!" And bowed to Celestia, "what can I help you with?"
"My dearest friend, Arctus, was wounded out in a battle. I was hoping you might be able to help him, I know his physiology is different, but maybe there is something you can do."
"Of course! We'll get sompo-," before the nurse could finish a doctor rushed from the patient rooms.
"Come come, Princess and..."
"Arctus."
"Right, Arctus," he motioned for them to follow and they went right to an examination room, "what's the matter, Princess?"
Celestia pointed her hoof to his nose, "look," she was getting a little fed up with everypony addressing her and not him, "for all intents, Arctus is a citizen of Equestria, directly serving under me," he looked to her a bit shocked, "I'd appreciate it if you addressed him."
In a flurry of sweat the physician looked to him, "broken muzzle?"
"Nose. Broken nose, I've seen the old ways of fixing one so I hope you can figure out where my bones are."
He nodded, "let's get a quick x-ray and get you fixed."
An hour or so later, the bones and cartilage in his nose was back in the proper places, or close enough to them. The entire time he visited, they kept making weird mentions to different creatures that Arctus' body resembled, mostly primates.
"Celestia...if you could, please do that more often."
"Hmm? Do what exactly?" She stopped moving along and turned to face him.
Arctus turned as well, full attention and posture directed to a conversant meant respect, at least in Equestria, "stick up for me in conversations. I don't know how to really engage with anyone let alone with anypony outside of intimidation and storytelling. I come off too fierce for most ponies to even speak to me."
And she laughed, whether at him or not, she was having a chu-.
"I'm not making fun of you, just...it fills me with joy that I can impact your life in such a simple way and that you'd ask a favor of me."
The Master Scout began walking again, nudging her along as the supports and temporary glues stuck further into place on his nose, "you have some places with more prowess than me and socializing is one of them."
"You remember when you were such a stoic hermit in the Everfree Forest?"
"My forest, don't go forgetting."
"Okay, your forest."
"I do remember...it was simpler, but not as...fun? Enjoyable," Arctus found his word.
Celestia smirked as she bumped into him, guiding the human to the train station, "it doesn't seem like six or so hundred moons since Luna came screaming into the castle about some psychopath pinning her to the ground by her hair and threatening to kill her."
Celestia began to depress, visibly. Arctus wrapped an open arm around her neck and slammed her side into his while tey still walked.
"Th-thanks."
"I guess this is the closest to how Scouts showed love for each other...it was mostly out of seeing a brother or sister after years apart."
"What's it feel like when they come back?"
"Like coming home, Celestia. Like coming home."
"I-I look forward to it."
"She's returning? I can't wait for a match against her, she had some audacity in combat."
"She...she's destined to return. I didn't banish her permanently."
"I'll be there with you to welcome her back."
Celestia sighed as they stepped onto the train platform, "she'll be back as the transformed Nightmare Moon."
"You can bet your ass I'll be there to make sure Luna comes back," he peered into her soft eyes, "you can bet your front damn teeth, too."
She hugged him and squeezed him tight, "I don't think you can do that."
"Then I'll fight Nightmare Moon until she gives up."
"You...you can definitely do that," tears left her eyes before the scout hugged her back, petting her mane.
"Come on, there's Canterlot to get back to."
Arctus visited the armory, three guards present, two outside the stone building and one inside with him, an officer.
"Lieutenant Silver Spike, these weapons definitely seem newer," he walked to a rack of swords, picking up a spath and taking off his gladius with the worn belt attached to the sheath and equipped the new spatha to his side, "and definitely like I could apply them in more ways."
"Well, to be fair, it's been eight or nine hundred moons since you've updated your armory. How about that spear? Don't you want something more polished?"
"Silver Spike," he dropped the rank. None of the citizens were comfortable with him, but the guards were, to the point that they'd even relax a little more knowing he was close, "the spear I have has seen me through a battle with Luna, the Glacegere, Tirek. It's a special spear, I'm sure you know."
"Oooooh, so that isn't all your magic doing that fancy stuff?"
"My spear is specially forged with magma that's been enchanted since Aeternia's birth. It's a very unique spear, all Scout weapons are unique, that's what can give us an advantage because not a single one of us fights the same."
"I see, we need to get you into our practice ring some time."
"I can maybe instruct you al how to fight a bit better in duels, but I'm no good with your formations, except for testing your fortitude and will in those...phalanxes you call them."
And a thought dawned on Arctus, he used to use more in combat, sure he had ten giant arrows on him now and the same bow, maintenanced to keep its power, but he did more.
"Hey, Silver Spike."
"Yeah, Arctus?"
"Can you put a request in to the blacksmiths?" Arctus took off the leather glove on his left hand he made himself so long ago.
"Sure, whatcha need?" He handed him his glove.
"Ask them to cover this with heavy scale mail, like thicker plates than normal. That kind of thing is called a cestus, I'll be there to inspect it later of course. Can you also run something by the fletchers? Bodkin arrows."
"Bod...kin arrows?" Silver Spike tilted his head and Arctus' eyes pinpointed the top of his helmet.
He took the helmet off the lieutenant and point to the triangular spike at the top, "arrowheads like this, but a longer, slimmer. They'll know they nailed the design when it gets through mail and chain incredibly easy."
"Aeternia must have be a warzone."
"It was because of our strength and weapons that it wasn't, Silver Spike."
Arctus walked out of the armory along with him and they walked about the front of the castle together, "you hear that rumor?"
"The one about me?"
"Yeah, they say you're Celestia's consort, any truth to that?"
"We have a very friendly informal relationship, but I don't think she sees me that way, nor do I her. She's very pleasant company though, and fun."
"Sounds like that's got some fine print in it."
"She's the only per-pony who sees me as someone who isn't a warborn monster but as a unique individual."
"What makes you think the guards and soldiers do? Or me?"
Arctus threw a quick punch, nailing him in his side, not causing too much damage, "you all relax around me, like the best fighter, bred for battle is here. It's what's become expected of me here, I know my stints to my forest don't help, but it's obvious and might not change for a while."
"Well, you just keep an open mind...having a coltfriend around might really make both of you happy and that's something we'd both like to see."
They reached the gate, "I'm grabbing some food, go to the smiths and the fletchers and be gone with that nonsense," Arctus left out the front gates of the castle, making his way to the city. There was a restaurant that provided some vegetarian options curated to what his body needs and set aside, cooked, and seasoned all of it for him to come by every lunch and devour it for the next three or four hours as a feast.
And the name was true, there was a giant skylight at the top of the high end establishment that bled light into the whole dining hall.
The Scout always sat alone at his own table on this occasions, eating a giant helping of food every lunch a large variety among them, but Arctus had definitely done wonders for the farms planting legumes and leafy greens.
And bread was a staple of Aeternia, so the local bakers felt like artists whenever he came into to see them. He was making a name for himself, but every high class pony in the restuarant still gave him glances of distaste, not that he cared.
He was actually taking down a buttered woven loaf when he was approached.
"So, you're him?" A voice feigning authority spoke and he saw her approach from his glances.
Now he fully looked up, "Arctus you mean? Yes, is there an emergency?"
The red and orange maned slice of fire laughed, "you're reserved for emergencies?! That's all they give you the privilege of?"
Arctus knew playful banter, and this was not that teasing. Ponies were looking about and whispers were quickly going on how there might be a duel that evening.
"I had planned to brave the Frozen North's wastes this weekend and make a checkup on the environment, but seeing as you're laughing in my face," he stood, overcoming her height, "we can have a duel should you like. Now or in the evening."
Ponies were slowly leaving their chairs and stepping away.
"Hey, Arctus! I appreciate your business, but you're not-," a chef came screaming out the kitchen doors.
"This evening then, the higher cliffs of Canterlot. Don't fall," she smirked at him.
Condescending, boastful. Arctus met a few of those types among the army in Aeternia, even some captains and higher ranking officers would request a scout to duel them to whip their ego back in line.
In one case, Arctus was even called to make a spectacle, killing every enemy that approached a soldier before he could face them, humility was a lesson the armies needed.
He sat back down and continued eating, the unicorn who approached him trotted away, leaving the restaurant.
Another pony came to him, "sorry to-."
"Another interruption?" His mannerisms didn't change until he expressed them and felt the anger, "sorry...sorry, what do you need?"
"You...you know you just challenged Princess Celestia's student to a duel, right?" Arctus had been in the forest for quite a while, stunting the wilderness of it back and keeping his domain in check, but also traveling about. Celestia had mentioned a future protégé, but this must have meant it's official.
"I didn't."
"Is the Princess gonna be okay with this?"
"She'll have to be, maybe it will even teach her student some humility or the right way to boast."
"O-okay," the pony left to return to his party, who immediately began intense whispers.
Arctus finished his food and paid with the stipend he received from Celestia for his efforts over the nation.
"Arctus...that unicorn's no joke, rumor is she's just as powerful as Starswirl," the host pony whispered to him.
"I appreciate your concern."
"Knock her down a peg for all of us."
He smiled and patted the host on his shoulder before setting off for the castle and readying his gear.
He made a point to check in on the egg, no noted development since the day he first got it.
And he headed off to the cliffs in full kit.
There was a bit of an audience, mixed of class. Guards, soldiers, nobles, rich, poor, everypony wanted somepony to be there to tell them about it later.
Arctus arrived before the unicorn challenger did and so he sat on a cliff edge, looking out at the sunset made by his closest friend.
"Afraid you wouldn't show, too busy being an errand pony," that same scoff.
He didn't look to her, "what's your name?"
"Sunset Shimmer."
"Let's make this quick, Sunset," he informally addressed her as he stood and walked away from the edge, "everypony, you better be a decent distance away and find some cover...if you're not a unicorn, find one who can cast a shield spell."
Safety to audience was paramount for duels that involved Scouts.
"So, Sunset, you got any rules?"
"Just one...don't kill each other."
"But it's okay if I send you to the healers?" He smirked and saw the annoyance hit her face as he drew out his spear and one of his throwing knives.
"IF you can," she smiled and lit her horn, sending a bolt at him.
The magic just dissipate upon contact with his spear. The Master Scout took initiative and began to rush down the unicorn, blocking three more small bolts before thrusting his spear forward. The unicorn teleported and he heard a magic bolt behind him, this one he stepped aside and in the same movement, threw the knife, "we come prepared, informed, and ready to adapt. We Scouts are an army all on our own."
"Ahh!" Sunset Shimmer cried out as the knife pierced one of her hooves, the scout took the time during his dialogue as a tactical moment and put his spear back, taking out his bow and loading a normal arrow, he shot at her other hoof and a shield of cyan came, the arrow breaking off.
Arctus already loaded another and shot it at the first insistence of a return fire, ducking after, another shield.
She didn't return fire this time, her horn staying bathed in the light blue glow.
"Did you want to stop before you get further injuries?" He asked her.
"It'll take more than a cut to stop me," Arctus fiddled with his hand.
"Plienas karka savininkas."
And the throwing knife that fell out made a return, cutting her once more. Arctus slotted it away as she flinched and sprinted at her, letting her teleport again, but this time, he whipped around, dialed in, ready, breath held in his throat for his complete attention.
Dedication.
And an arrow was pulled back, the moment he saw the flash of her reappearing he loosed it and it sank into her chest. He spun about, not unlike advancing and avoiding an untrained spearman's thrust.
Her magic bolt missed him and a mace was flung right toward her face, there was no time to teleport as a show off so she moved her head back around.
"Plienas karka savininkas!" The mace began to fly back and almost made contact before it was held in Sunset's magical grip.
"You get to only do that trick once," and a beam was shot at him, he went to move, but the pony before him stuck his feet to the ground, just a quick duck and the spearhead above his head pierce the magic, dispersing the energy about him for two or three feet. When it was over, he stood and his mace flung into his hand and then back into its spot.
His bow was put away and his spear came out again.
"The last foe that made me get innovative was Lord Tirek, and now you're here."
She smirked at his half handed compliment and the Scout put his spearhead down, "so let me make sure you know what I am capable of," his hand went about the air, tracing a sigil, a purple line followed his index and ring finger as his others were down, the symbol was one he hadn't used in a while, a spell to be used in tougher circumstances, "Tirek taught me that some creatures and ponies here are worth the extra effort.
"Protector of those in the Shadows. Pusher of knives in the Dark. Please cover me in your chill."
And all at once he was gone. The entity he asked permission from always gave it, of course an idea and intent to murder could not decline or have it's own conscious, but he petitioned in the spell words all the same with the full incantation.
"An...an invisibility spell?! That brute managed a spell that advanced?!" The audience was in an uproar at his feat.
And in the short time, Sunset's hoof was pierced deep and then lifted up, the spear cutting while he raised her now bleeding body into the air, he flung her then against the mountain wall at the cliff side, shrieks the whole way.
He became visible again and breathed deep, readying to channel the magic in his spear. The unicorn was slowly rising up and the icy fires that scarred his spear hissed to life before crackling across the ground at an incredible rate towards her.
"Wait!" She cried and the flames stopped, "you...you win."
And the flames retracted before she shot a beam.
The deep blue roared high and cut the magic off, at the same time, consuming her fur and leaving frostbite in its wake when it touched her rear hooves and tickled her stomach. She screamed loud and the flames died down.
"I'm not a stranger to deception," Arctus spoke and the ponies about were whispering.
Sunset was breathing, "I...I concede, get me to the hospital, please!" True desperation.
Arctus approached, putting away his spear, "even if you attempted magic again, you couldn't. That fire, as cold as it burns," he heaved her up and onto his shoulder, "also suppresses magical energies."
"You really are," she grunted in pain as he walked to the edge, "her best defense."
"You might feel some discomfort."
He rubbed those familiar wards of his boots before descending straight down the mountain cliff, "none of what you do is a rumor, it's all real."
He sprinted down toward the city, heading to the nearest hospital he could see from up above, "I imagine there are too many wild stories about me."
"There are, they say you destroyed Minos all on your own," she grunted.
"I did, and now there is an entire kingdom rising elsewhere that Celestia denies me any course of action," Arctus met the city and began running through the streets, he was going to a familiar one, a hospital that has studied him extensively and offered any services should he need them.
Which was more than most did.
Arctus burst through the doors of it, rushing in toward the actual hospital, "Arctus?! Sunset?!" The nurse at the reception was compelled to action and quickly took to the PA system, "doctors, healers, Sunset Shimmer isin the hospital in need of immediate attention."
Arctus, after delivering her, elected to wait in the waiting room, where a physician was actively discussing and trying to verbally discipline him, "what are you thinking?! Dueling the Princess' student! She'll have your head!"
"I'd like to remind you that I stood as an equal to her sister, but I understand the consequences of my actions."
"Arctus?" He heard Celestia's voice as she trotted into the hospital, all the ponies bowing to her, he chose to stand and face her, "oh, Arctus," she approached him with a smile, "this is very much like you."
"P-Prin-princess! He...he gravely injured your new personal student!"
"That may be so, but I would trust him even with my own life. Did she insult you?"
"In a way, but her ego is what really bothered me."
"You have one yourself," she jabbed.
"I know I do. I haven't seen you in a while, I heard stories that there is a new alicorn princess?"
And not a moment later after the words left his mouth, Sunset trotted out of the doors that lead to patient rooms, "Ce-Princess!" She bowed.
"I see Arctus put your hubris into check, my student," she trotted to her, "rise."
"I...I, it's my fault, I was purposefully provoking him."
"That's okay, just remember Arctus is from a different world and a very privileged person of Equestria."
"I know."
"And I lived through all the things he has done, he's capable of things nopony would ever dream of."
Celestia looked to him with a wide smile, "and has painted himself black for all of Equestria, a noble action none of us would understand. You're free to return to your studies, Sunset, there's not coming punishment from me."
"Huh?!"
Celestia trotted back to Arctus and pushed her head onto his back, "let's go for a walk, it's been too long since I've seen you."
Sunset had never seen Celestia act so interested in someone, let alone so lenient to her especially after something a serious as this.
A couple of turns down streets and Celestia spoke up, "I see you're in your full battle equipment. How was it? Your duel with Sunset?"
"It wasn't difficult to win, she's too confident in her abilities and it left her very vulnerable."
"That boastfulness has been the hardest trial for her to overcome. I see so much potential in her."
"She teleported very readily, from the reading material you gave me many years ago, that marks her as a talented mage."
"Yes, but her lack of friends concerns me."
"Perhaps she just needs time to travel the world. That happens regularly to those seeking to join Aeternian military and they're all the better for it before joining."
"You could have a point there. Sorry to be as selfish as to pull you around for a walk."
"I don't mind, Celestia," the looks were still given, but mostly out of respect for the two of them. That was the consensus when they were seen together, Arctus was used to seeing their fear and hesitant nature when dealing with them.
"Thanks, I just haven't seen you in a long time. You've spent so many moons out in the field."
"I've been monitoring, there's an organization to the west, the Griffons, but are unlikely to pose any kind of threat. There is another...the dragons. Their nature is to destroy and I would very much like to reco-."
"No, there is no need. They've always kept to themselves."
"But the saf-."
"I appreciate how much thought you give the safety of Equestria, but it will be fine. We must learn to live in harmony with different creatures just as we live in harmony with you."
He decided being quiet was best for now.
And they walked for a bit more, "Arctus, have you ever thought of starting a family?"
"A...family?"
"I guess Scouts of Aeternia never really thought of it. Always on the move and so close to death must be too harrowing."
"Equestria is more peaceful."
Celestia expressed more eagerness than she intended to, "so you're open to the idea."
"Having children would be an interesting experience, but one I think I might not be suited for."
"What about marrying?"
"I did give that some thought in Aeternia, but didn't really consider it until I became more established as a Scout."
"Because of your high mortality rate?"
He nodded, "but the idea of having someone like that is...nice."
Celestia hummed, "well, we likely aren't able to get you back to Aeternia. I do have a couple of scholars looking into it as I always have, but with no success."
"As bad as it sounds, I've already given up on the possibility of going back to Aeternia. I made peace with that a long time ago."
"How long ago?"
"When I returned after conquering Minos, you welcomed me back just as warmly and I knew I'd be okay living here."
Celestia stopped walking and laid her had onto him, "thank you for telling me that."
Arctus patted the tall pony's neck, "you sure are inclined to these gestures."
"Only with you. I'm not a princess when Arctus is here."
He smiled, "glad I can fulfill that role for someone who's given me purpose again."
The two began to walk again, "has anyone piqued your interest in Equestria?"
"That student of yours, Sunset Shimmer. I think I'd like to duel her again some time."
"You're always allowed to, but-."
"And there's a new princess? I was spending a year under the dragons' eyes, observing them, so I missed all of that."
"I know and the first day you're back, eating a hearty meal, Sunset assails you."
"That's an admirable trait, confronting the strong is a mental will few have."
Arctus began walking to the castle, bumping Celestia into walking that way, "I would have immediately recommended her to the counsel for Scout training."
"You think she has those kind of traits?"
"I know she's capable of great power, that's always been the foundation for it."
"She has persevered with no parents," Celestia mentioned, "I can introduce you to Cadenza today, that would not be a problem. I did mean my question in a different manner.
"Tell me then," he looked down to see a less composed ruler of Equestria.
"Anyone in Equestria that interests you...romantically, Arctus?" They were walking up a series of steps to the castle, alone.
"I...I haven't given that thought. There are some ponies I find great company with, like some of the guard, but I don't know about romantically," it was a foreign idea, "but it does...does make me curious now, it's a thought I didn't think I'd entertain this much," and it kept swirling in his head.
Celestia was smiling, "just remember you can always come and conf-tell me anything. I'll keep discretion in mind as I always do."
"Thank you, you mentioned meeting Cadenza. Where is she?"
"I'm just noting how other ponies can see you as a menace," this alicorn, pink and paletted like all the colors of the morning sky, was speaking with him very casually, "not that you are, I mean."
"This is," Celestia began.
"Princess Cadenza, you can call me Cadence if you like. I know you're close with auntie at least."
"And Cadence, this is-," Celestia didn't prompt but was cut off this time.
"Arctus! Master Scout Arctus! From Aeternia! Hero of the Minos Invasion!"
"I didn't think ponies would call me hero for that."
"They don't, but you did save Canterlot and Equestria. They called you the Tall Horror, which doesn't seem very...endearing as Celestia speaks of you."
"Cadence!" Celestia chirped.
"Sorry sorry, nopony calls you that anymore, a lot call you the Warborn From the Stars."
Arctus puffed, "that's a title."
"I don't think you're quite my speed, I like talking a bit much. I can see how you find him fascinating, Auntie. He's very different, even his tone is so different from ours."
"I've noticed that alicorns typically are in charge of something," they hadn't left the hall they still occupied, "so...what do you rule over?"
"Rule?!" Cadence giggled, "I'm just the Princess of Love and advice on those kinds of matters."
That was a complete foreign idea to him, seeking wisdom in decisions happened on Aeternia, sure, they had scryers of the stars and mountains, but nobody sought for help in matters of love.
"That's interesting. Instead of being responsible for an integral part of life like Celestia, you help to create a better quality of life by giving counsel as your sole purpose?"
"Purpose is a big word, it is my duty, but not my sole reason for being."
Another alien thought to him.
"Cadence, you've...you've given me much to think about while I take my excursion to the Frozen North."
"Are you always so serious?!" She called after him while he began walking past the two of them.
"He has his moments, there's a wonderful personality under all the soldier in him."
"Could you...talk with him more when you get the chance, Cadence?" Arctus could hear even after he turned a corner, heading to his suite.
The Scout came to check solely upon the egg and noted that there was a change on it.
Ice was forming in tiny little specs, giving the egg the illusion of a magic sparkle, the deep blue color was still the on other feature of the large egg, but the abnormal change was a good indicator that the egg was alive since its first candling.
And growing.
Arctus knew Celestia had a pet phoenix, but he had never seen him with his own eyes. He pondered if the Glacegere could have been related.
That threw his mind to think about the changes he had gone through, talking with more normal citizens, although he was stressing the word normal, he usually kept his conversations with out fighters to exchange tips and battle knowledge.
But he had spoken with three princesses now and he could cou t one of them had a good friend, someone he could rely on.
Every single thing about this world was alien to him, but the thoughts he was having time and time again became less foreign. He had already resigned to exchange pleasantries, but if he enjoyed it...
Wasn't that real friendship? To enjoy someone's company and activities you do with them?
He should invite Celestia, maybe Sunset or Cadance if they express a want to be his friend, out to travel or just even a meal.
Despite traveling as a Scout, he never once felt lonely knowing the Destiny Stars shot from the Trepidatory Volcanoes were looking over him, holding the sky aloft and blessing him with their good graces as he showed his fearless self to enemy after enemy.
But now after meeting good ponies, he felt a bit lonely each time he went on an excursion, though it never stopped him. He always dismissed it as something stupid to give attention to, but now after letting his emotions breathe he came to the conclusion that there might be happiness to find there.
"Arctus?" A voice came from his door.
"Enter," and Cadence trotted through.
"Oh, is that the egg you've been caring for?" She looked to the bed.
"Yes, the egg of the Glacegere."
"Auntie said that was a very...violent battle."
"It was...but now I have a question. Has Celestia been following me about?"
"She never mentioned anything about stalking you," she giggled, "why?"
"I worry. I worry that she sees the gruesome things I have done and it will affeect her or that she imagines the people or creatures I have fought and slain," he looked to her, "sorry. I know this world is peaceful and war is not something anypony here is used to seeing."
"It's okay, Arctus. I know fighting is in your nature. You act like a protector."
"That's my purpose here, to help protect Equestria."
"No no...you act like a protector for her," she had trotted over to him and put her hoof on his chest for emphasis, "your heart, the opposite of that egg, is melting instead of freezing over."
"I...I don't really understand that metaphor."
She retracted her hoof, "you will, Arctus, just give yourself some time. These things aren't sudden, but slow," she began to head to the door, "and feel free to count me among your friends. I won't take too much of your time as you mentioned going to the Frozen North."
"Thank you, Cadence," and while it did take time for him to understand, he was still quick witted, "was this the counsel you provide?"
Cadence smiled wide as she opened the door, "it is. Now you see the importance?" He nodded his head and she left, "have a good outting!"
Love. That's what he gathered from it. Protecting out of duty was one thing, protecting because it was the right thing was entirely different.
He could have walked away, but now he understood more of why he didn't, something about Celestia attracted him to stay, he was even spending less time in the forest and more time at the castle when he wasn't traveling. His question was even tailored to protecting her from the more bloody parts of himself, that was specific.
He was protecting Equestria, the nation she ruled, for her, it was for Celestia, not just so he could have a kingdom replace Aeternia, but so he could have a home near her.
"How...odd."
He walked to the balcony, looking out at Canterlot, "well, now that I ubderstand these warm feelings...what do I do with them?" He spoke again.
And he suspended the thought, surveying was imperative to the security of the nation, so he went off to the Frozen North.
Sure enough, that weekend, he had gone to the Frozen North and made an interesting report that was buried under piles of paperwork, but after two weeks, it had seen the light again.
And Arctus had already made another concerning report and a pressure to let him deal with the dragons, during the longer trip to the Southern Bone Dry Desert.
The rising desert kingdom he mentioned also posed a threat to Equestria, to him, he was watching enemies come about on all sides. Celestia saw it differently than that.
"Arctus, I'm glad you made an official report and followed court proceedings this time!" Sunset stood at her side while she held court today.
The guards next to them smiled at the man, he was becoming more popular about, "I wanted to give my appreciation to you and the smiths formally here. They did an excellent job in the sheet metal and I finally finished it into the mail attached to my tunic that you see me wearing now."
"It's so dark...and depressing."
"He needs to move unseen, my student."
"I get that, but he's not in the field now so why bother with it?"
"To always be ready to mobilize. I know you accepted this time because of my report about the dark shadow running about the Frozen North."
"Yes, that concerns me...King Sombra made the whole Crystal Empire disappear, what did you see?"
"Smoke rose from the ice and snow, sporadically, but something black was moving around under. I monitored it that entire weekend and only saw it happen for about an hour or so."
"A weekend in the Frozen North? How does he stay warm?" One of the guards whispered.
"I'll establish a monitoring post with regular shifts then. You don't have to worry about going there again, friend."
"I intend to, whatever it is, I want to be ready for when it emerges."
Celestia sighed, "so diligent, but nopony I know is as dedicated as you," she smiled.
"I appreciate the compliment. I did make another report, two of them. That nation across the ocean to the South, it's growing surprisingly fast and as of now, it would be a challenge for me to tame."
"Leave it alone, Arctus, let the matter fall to us. This is a wisdom I don't think you have yet," she kept the smile.
"I..what? Okay, I'll forget about pressing you so much about it, but there is another thing you should know."
"He's very...persistent."
"He breathes battle, Sunset. If you lived during the tales about him as I did, you would not have dueled him."
Arctus took out his hand drawn map in charcoal of Equestria and noted the desert to the South, "there's a fortress here, some kind of weird town sprung up and they're mobilizing for war. I don't know where, I don't know how, but I-."
"No, Arctus, don't tell me any more. I'm giving you the assignment to," Celestia paused and even the guards looked at her, waiting to hear the death sentence for everything there she was about to give.
"make their rising kingdom fall."
Arctus bowed, taking a knee, "I will depart at once."
"Princess...is it easy giving that order?" Sunset asked.
"No...I care for everything living, but I must protect all my ponies. Arctus is nice enough to lend us his strength."
"Arctus, do you...enjoy doing this?" She asked him as he was already turned about.
"I do. This is my purpose in life and without Celestia, I would still be living a very mundane and unfulfilling life."
Sunset didn't cringe at his answer, "I'm coming with you."
And she hopped off the pedestal.
"I don't...actually this would be a good lesson for you, Sunset Shimmer," the two guards whipped their heads to the Princess, "you could learn a lot about what we try to avoid in making friendships and allies."
They had decided to meet in the town of Appleloosa, Sunset was ready before Arctus, who had stopped at the seamstress to put in an order. The ponies of the town enjoyed him greatly, especially after news got to them that he was the one who defeated Tirek again and restored their magic.
So the ponies would freely do business with him and he elected to take a cask of cherry wine as a celebration after his large assignment. He left eating an apple and met the student at the edge of town, a sign warning about the desert that was still far off.
"Hey, I packed a sleeping bag for you, too," he saw the saddlebag she wore and heaved the sleeping bag in one hand onto it, hooking it to the buckle, "it'll be a bit heavy, but it should keep you warm at night in the desert."
"What do you mean should?"
"It's not my craftmanship, I didn't have time to make you a bedroll myself like I did Celestia."
"You...you can make bedrolls? Why be a fighter then?" He nudged her on and they began walking as he consumed a second apple, dropping the first core.
"I um, make bedding and coats, clothing and tools using animals."
"O-oh."
"I'm not even considering about using ponies or any sentient creatures. I've only used those star bear monstrosities, deer, elk, and the like. Sometimes wolves, but those are rare in my forest."
"You must have an ego, calling it your forest."
"That's because it is my forest. I walk in there and everything gets quiet."
"I'd very much like to see that."
He breathed out, "we'll see, that place has become more dangerous lately...mainly because I've spent so much time away, we'll reach that fortress around dusk, camp, and then you can rest at the camp while I got about my business."
"No fair!"
"I don't need somepony in harm's way."
"Well, I've practiced a lot since our last duel!"
"Is that so?"
"I'll be invisible the whole time!"
"I might allow you to go about me like that then, but it depends on how much we're talking about. It could be an easy three hour or longer, I haven't done the real reconnaissance, the moment I saw them mobilizing, I fled because my chances of being discovered were very high."
"How do you plan to go an entire day not being discovered?"
"You'll see," he smiled, "we Scouts are the most innovative people you'll meet."
They arrived, the shadow of the fortress was cast large and Arctus could see the shapes of numerous sentries patrolling their even battlements. It was a conglomeration of different shapes, an inclusive army meant a variety of challenges instead of just one way of fighting, he could meet slew of different combatants.
The shadow was hiding them, they weren't in plain sight, but they could still be noticed.
"Sunset Shimmer, you listen good," he handed her a bag made of furs, "start filling it with sand, we're creating a small dune to camouflage," he pointed to a spot in the sands, "that will provide us the seamless ability to blend in with natural occuring shapes and the quickest time to complete it, even if it is close to this rarely used road."
"I...you what?!"
He glared at her, "no screaming. This is life and death now so abandon your pride," Arctus got started with a bag himself, shoving loads of sand out of the way and creating a pocket in a dune as he went down in it, "get your ass over here and help me.
It was only a handful of quick movement before the two of them finished, having to crouch, but they remained out of sight. Arctus put up the fibers as protection, the same ones he always used before he laid out bedrolls, "crawl in, it'll get incredibly cold so don't be surprised if we're huddled for warmth."
And pulled another fur from his bag and a glass of glistening liquid.
"And that is?"
"Tree sap," he poured it over the fur, coating it well before snapping and flinging excess off.
"That's your idea to not get seen? You're crazy."
He shoved the fur into the sands, letting the sap mix with the sand and dragging it about violently for many minutes before holding up his work, "Kanna taught me this one, fellow Aeternian. It makes it easy to move around desert sands without getting spotted so long as you are far enough away."
"It looks incredibly like the sands themselves."
"It's most effective in smaller windstorms, then you can't notice the difference at all," he laid it aside, "regardless, I need a little rest before I begin researching the best way to go about erasing them," he crawled into his own sleeping bag, "so now we sleep."
"With only a couple miles between us and them?" Sunset whispered in an outrage.
"Yes. This is the job of a Scout, take notes and publish if you want."
And Arctus settled down, ready to get his hair full of sand, "I'm trusting you to not go running off on your own into trouble."
"Of course, this is your show."
And they slept.
Arctus was first to rise in the morning sun and he checked over his equipment, pulling a piece of old parchment out from within his tunic and looking at the symbols on it, attempting to memorize them.
He was stoic and quiet for a long while, awaiting the mid day sun to give him just the right kind of shadows to begin learning about their fortress.
"Are those your spells? I've never seen symbols this intricate. Why do all all of them have a base shape?" Sunset awoke so quietly without his knowledge.
"Easy, student. These are the symbols of my spells, each one has a verbal component."
"But what do the giant triangle, circle, square, and others mean?"
"That denotes the house of magic each belongs to; utilitarian, offensive, defensive, and lastly godhoods."
"What's that last one?" Sunset asked, pointed to the last symbol on the parchment.
"That's to help me remember how to draw a godhood base, the star with a circle within has some special little symbols in the points of each star that have to be exact when you cast."
"With a name like that, they must be important. What do they do?"
"Every Scout is required to learn two godhoods. The first is the Speed of Yetrema, so a Scout can rush home at the telepathic signal to stand for Aeternia. The second is Gær's Lungs which lets us fight without the need for breath, eliminating most exhaustion."
"You say that like you know another one."
"I do, I've never even used it yet, I was taught it from one of our general's, a Stormer."
"You have the most interesting ranks, a Scout is the highest authority, but a general still exists?"
"Correct, feel free to gather your things or even look through what I brought, we have some water, but come mid-day...when the sun is just barely past the midpoint in the sky, I'll begin investigating further and come back with more water from them. My real battle is tonight."
"So much preparation, are you sure you don't want my help to make this quick?"
"I need no help, this is my life, my duty. It is my glory to have."
And Sunset went silent, awaiting as she drank some water and did look at some of his belongings, eyeing the giant arrows he had.
And come that time, he packed everything he need up, wearing his full battle gear, he held up his camouflage.
"Laiptelis oro skraidyti," the same yellow platform appear in front of him and he stood on it, stepping out and up over the dune, ensuring he stayed close to the ground so his shadow was not visible and neither was the screen that hid him, in a matter of seconds, he made it to the walls and climbed over, quickly dropping a sentry with hid hunting knife lodging into this dog person's throat, catching blood and air on the metal before tossing him over the wall before blood could even drop to the stone.
The knife was wiped on his tunic and he pressed on, taking down a couple more near the gate before leaping from the wall and onto a roof of a building in the town.
He noticed the airship leaving the town and knew he had the preferred time to not have to contend with it.
He was slaughtering as he went, making sure to hide the bodies of whoever wherever he could. This was not something he could let sit like the minotaurs, they were mobilized and ready to depart, revenge would be a quick strike on Equestria.
With disease and sabotage off the table, only subterfuge and murder were left to him. Countless guards, soldiers, and more were dying. Arctus was running on adrenaline and thrill as he went, hours and hours on end, taking canteens of water along the way, eating and drinking them and any food left out.
If he did have to use a godhood, they demanded a lot of mana but a lot of physical energy and horging himself was the key to being able to use one.
He was killing the whole way until dusk, near the end he let it get noisy and sure enough, an alarm was thrown and loud horns were sounded across the sprawling city.
The Master Scout took to flee back to the front gate, throwing canteens just past the dune so Sunset Shimmer could gather them and drink.
Nobody was on him, he fled as quick as he could and at the other side of the front gate, he traced a similar symbol, one he pulled on Celestia and Luna.
The gate blasted open as he ran, stone and metal shrapnel flying high with sand clouds covering him. He stood at the road running past Sunset who saw him clear as day. A finger went to his lips, telling her to remain quiet as he ran past.
A large force, presumably most of the military that was left, gave chase, emerging past the sand cover and locking eyes with him. Arctus stood and waited for them as they charged, they knew some combat, enough to not have fear and block some simple attacks, but left themselves open to being parried and slaughtered on the spot. Dozens of different species were present, some even wearing armor, not that it stood a chance against the growing legend's spear.
He was slaying away, a wide smile on his face as he went, "tell the fourteen Lords of Hell that it was Arctus!" He lifted a giant bear like creature up on his spear, "Arctus sent you all to them!" The warrior flung it back at them nd noticed no more were leaving the city, rather they were all dead or gone. Arctus used the icy fire to surge toward the group of opponents left, dealing with them swiftly and their shrieks rang out for a little bit.
He began to approach the city again to make a cleaner sweep of it.
And a greatsword was caught on his spear's metal shaft, the Scout quickly drew his hatchet and hooked it onto an incoming small sword, bouncing away in the same motion. He caught a clearer glimpse and saw the nine volcanoes of Aeternia with the Destiny Stars above them emblazoned on a shiny chestplate.
It was human.
And the rank of Captain adorned the knee plates of the armor suit.
"Oh? A Scout," it seemed to peer from within her helmet, "a Master Scout at that...you've grown Arctus," only fellow Aeternians could tell from weapons alone who a scout was and wasn't. Nobody had the kind of weapons they did made in the forges with lava dipping.
"K...Kanna?!" At his words, she lifted her visor, revealing a pale blonde haired woman, scarred and face matted with sand.
"Yep, it's me. Kanna the Litzrer, Captain. I didn't expect to meet anyone from Aeternia, let alone you."
"Why are you mobilizing these forces?"
"What forces? You killed all of them, the only ones left are civilians."
He breathed in deeply, "who were you planning to attack?"
"We were going to conquer and then conscript the horses North of here."
"I was dispatched by them after I made a report of the forces here."
"A Scout is a Scout even in a different world."
"Kanna, what will you do now?" She took an offensive stance to his words
"Fight you. Those forces were gonna help me settle a personal grudge after I conscripted those horses and you just set back that plan. Can't have those horses running you over here and destroying my work every time I get close."
"I won't let you just harm the ponies," Arctus put his hatchet away and put one hand in front of him, tracing a lengthy symbol as quick as he could.
The star with a circle inside, she sprinted at him, greatsword reared back and smallsword in her right hand, ready to swipe or defend, "I'm not letting a Scout use a godhood magic."
"Relentless Gær! I invoke your name. Give to me," he leapt over her head, continuing the symbol that flew with him, "your breath, blown into my nostrils so I may not."
A great green light shown over Arctus and he stopped breathing, closing back on Kanna as she finished some words he barely picked up.
Long waves of vortex energy came at him, this was a magic he could not simply disperse wit his spear, it would leave him trapped where she would want him.
The Litzrer slashed away, forming more vortex slashes coming his way at a slow pace.
"Zaibas surasti sykiu!" And as he was almost at her, she began to slash with her small sword, Arctus held his spear in front, blocking the lightning bolts that came his way, the magic falling away painlessly and without effort. He finished closing and took a swipe just as he ducked under another wave of vortex energy and his spear cut across her chestplate effortlessly, blood flying into the air.
The Master Scout followed with a thrust forward as she leapt back, earning a swipe to his face and her greatsword crashed into his side.
He felt the crack before he heard it, but he did not falter, no he pressed.
"I became a Master Scout here, I'll show you the new glory I've added," he flipped his spear around and drove the head into the sands with both his hands.
The frigid burn spread over the sands, creating a towering dome that encased them within such a small arena that Kanna could only run towards him. She stood in her armor set, sweating away, her metal armor melted away at a cold temperature, her shell being taken by force.
He sprinted again, "kerai sunaikinti!" His other hand flew forward and all the magic she sent his way simply disappeared, stuck in position, she posed to defend.
Arctus thrust his spear forward, watching her muscles tense and the moment he saw them move to fling them aside he twisted, bringing the shaft close to his body and spinning about to let loose his weapon in an upward thrust.
Thumbs facing each other in his grip, he forced her onto the deadly weapon, lifting her high into the air, the cold fires died around them, "may Aeternia await with open gates."
"She will, brother, fight with your new glory."
He stoked the fires and she quickly died, whether her cells undergoing pyrolysis or her body freezing and ceasing to function, Arctus didn't know, but he pulled the spear out and her body hit the sand with a loud thud.
He walked back to the campsite, in pain, but not in agony that would compromise him, a will stronger than any iron. He noticed Sunset was missing and she did leave a note.
Arctus, I've planned this for a while, I hope you've won your battle with Kanna, but I took the opportunity to teleport back across Equestria and jump to a different world. I have goals as grand as you are. I look forward to the day you stand against me.
An ominous note and one Celestia might understand, but he pocketed it quickly and packed most of his gear, resources he could make again were left behind.
He was living on borrowed time. He drew out another godhood symbol after taking the ten minutes to disassemble what he kept that was his, "Yetrema, lend me your legs so that I may run an errand just as great as your warning to the Council of Stars," he spoke aloud, a red glow coming to his feet, with a couple steps he was already miles away, red bolts of lightning chasing his feet as he went.
He made no hesitance at stopping in to the hospital in Canterlot where surgeons quickly got busy with him and IV fluids were injected at an incredible rate, for his pain management as they did not want to risk anesthesia, so they kept him awake while they worked and given an incredible amount of vitamins and elements to help his body in creating more blood. His tunic, chain, and scale were all magically lifted off.
Arctus was reliving the battle in his head, paying no heed to the physicians running about him, speculating best treatment while they were treating him. He did underestimate Kanna, having believed she was still far weaker than himself, but she had done some proper growing since he last met her.
But that gave the possibility that more Aeternians were here.
Unable to sustain himself further, Arctus drifted away from the land of living, his hearing was already gone and next he fainted.
The doctors and nurses did not stop working on him.
"I finally figured it out! A pig! Get the veterinarian further down the street!"
Celestia stared over him as his chest rose and fell, Cadence present just next to her.
"When is he gonna wake up?"
"Auntie, it's only been two moons."
"Two moons too long."
"You really are smitten."
"You'd be the one to know."
Celestia inhaled and exhaled deeply, "it's even more concerning that Sunset hasn't been seen for this entire time either."
Cadence looked to his bag, "I have a feeling that Arctus knows the truth and that we'll get the truth soon."
"Is that well wishing?"
"It's hope."
Arctus flapped his eyes open, swinging his body up as he had done a handful of times in the healing dens of Aeternia.
He looked about, seeing his now beaten and shoddy armor and quickly began to don it as he always does, equipping his full gear despite his lightheadedness.
And he was out of his recovery room, walking down the halls, not caring that the IV's that had been supplying him were ripped off by his own hands as he put clothes on. Nurses were running at him, all blathering for him to lay back down.
"I've. Lost. Enough. Time," and he marched, unfazed by their words and not a single one dared to stop him, in fear of killing the one man that stood against the darker shadows in Equestria.
Let alone the star that puts a shine in Celestia's eyes.
"Call her, call the Princess right now!" A doctor screeched at the front desk receptionist.
Arctus pushed open the door and began walking down the street, right toward the castle, even as his vision faltered in black. He did not yet complete an assignment until he gave his report.
He made it the entire way there, nurses harassing him the whole way, but his hearing was short at the moment, his vision holding as he went up the steps on his hands and feet and pushed open both doors, finding his way to the throne rooms with guards also harassing him the way, but the moment he opened a door they stopped and he proceeded into throne room. Celestia stood at the platform alone with guards next to her. The townspony words were caught in his throat as Arctus approached.
He stood in front of her, swaying before stabilizing himself.
Celestia did receive the call from the hospital, but she knew him very well and knew this is what he wanted before he took his rest.
And he wouldn't take no for an answer.
"The kingdom in the Bone Dry Desert is subdued, all military force has been defeated alone with much of the civilians. They know not who did it."
"Well do-."
"Another piece of information. Litzrer Kanna, another Aeternian has been found and slain there. There may be other Aeternians, who away from home, have turned to more mindless war and violence to satisfy the purpose they were trained and made for."
The guards had a small opening in their mouths.
"Arctus...you killed one of your...comrades?" He nodded.
And Celestia thought back to when he first came to Canterlot as her beacon of hope.
"I was incapacitated from the wound, apologies for not delivering this report earlier," he drew the small sword and greatsword Kanna used, almost falling over, "take these weapons and inter them into a clay urn after you melt and grind them."
He let them clatter to the floor.
"I have more information of this report," he approached the platform and climbed up it, handing Celestia the note Sunset wrote, "Sunset Shimmer has escaped from Equestria to a different world. Would you like me to pursue?"
Celestia smiled at him, "dutiful to a fault. You couldn't chase her if you wanted, that portal is closed and will be for a very, very long time."
"You know where she went?"
"I will tell you later, you need to rest."
"Cancel court for the rest of the day, I ne-."
"Princess, you can't be seri-!" The townspony was cut off with a sharp look from Arctus, swallowing material fear back.
"I need to take care of Arctus."
"Princess, we can send the infirmary to-."
"No no, this is simply something that I must do."
Arctus looked to the gathering of guards they we behind the throne room door, "send some sheet metal to my quarters again, and some wire. I need a sewing kit and some fabric as well," and they went about.
He was the Scout of Equestria, even if nopony wanted to mention it. He brought his Aeternia with him.
Celestia went along as he walked, covered his back with one of her wings, but not touching him.
"Arctus, show me that wound," Celestia demanded.
"It's healed."
"Show me it anyway."
He was already stripping out of most of his gear and had left his tunic off, lifting an arm to show the great slash that went diagonal along his ribs.
"Ponyfeathers," the ruler cursed, "you should not have made it back at all."
"A Scout-."
"Enough with that, I already know what you're going to say before you say it," she lit her horn, organizing his equipment away for him just the way he liked. She already had a special small bed made for the egg of Glacegere and used her magic further to heat the bed just a little, "you're so proud that even in your almost dead state you want to speak your ideals to me," she pushed him to the bed and laid him in it, using more magic to cover him with the warm blankets, "you. Are. Resting. Understood?"
"..."
"I take that as agreeance, I've already sen-," a knock came to the door, "come in," Celestia was still at the bed side.
Cadence entered, wheeling in a cart of foods for him.
"I hope you don't mind, but I went back to your home myself and fetched some of the food you make to sustain your proteins."
"Auntie, are you sure this is a good idea? You did let him walk the whole way here and he just needs more rest, you can still-.""
"And he wouldn't have let me stop him, Cadence. Sunset Shimmer is gone and I have grief for my student who rejected my teachings, but right now Arctus needs me, his true friend, in this moment. Equestria can wait."
Powerful words, Arctus' senses were coming back slowly after the long walk and climb up the stairs to the bed, he made out those last three words of hers.
"Equestria...can not wait. It needs a defender."
"Not you," Cadence spoke this time, "you're in the care of Nurse Celestia now and she's not afraid to put her patients back to bed."
Cadence trotted back to the door, "I'll leave for you to rest."
Celestia sighed, "I have so many questions, but for now," she levitated a utensil up and began to feed Arctus herself, "you're eating this entire feast."
Arctus was feeling much better after he ate, his body had real, actual calories to use to repair the damage done.
He burped heartily.
"If you're healthy enough to do that then I don't think you're close to death's door."
"I...I have a lot of my strength back."
"And still a lot more to get back."
"You said you have questions for me."
Celestia sighed, "so stubborn, but so...attractive. I'm kind of liking how you treat me just like you would a normal pony, but still as a special close friend of yours."
"Celestia, questions. The annihilation of Equestria's enemies is my responsibility and if you have questions, I need to give you answers to we can sort any potential threat away."
"My first; how did Sunset get away?" She inhaled before the question, letting it out in a single breath.
"I was battling Kanna when it happened, she must have pre-written the note and teleported when I used a tunnel of my spear's cold fire to prevent Kanna from retreating away."
"I see," she sighed, "she's gone through a mirror that was in the old castle in your forest. I plan to move it here soon. I was keeping a close eye on her, but maybe you've taught her something she hasn't considered yet."
"Understood, I can escort you or whoever you send to retrieve. My forest knows my authority and will bend to my will."
"I thought the Everfree was peculiar to begin with, but knowing how much you influenced it, I guess it just takes a certain amount of grit or firmness to tame."
Arctus smirked at the compliment.
"Who is-was Kanna?"
"Kanna was part of the Aeternian army, a kind of shock trooper known as a Litzrer. They're well adapted for conflicts at any range and are heavily armored. She would seek me out at times in Aeternia for favors and I her if I needed some of her reports for an assignment."
"Was she a lover?"
"No, nothing like you-," Arctus froze in his sentence. His energy deprived mind had let something slip at an inopportune moment.
But it played to his favor, something he wouldn't know. Celestia blushed at the remark, clearing her throat, "and she's dead now?"
"Yes, but there may be more Aeternians."
"Was she the head of the military there? Did she have a plan?"
"Yes, she was the leader. She intended to conquer Equestria and conscript ponies to take them to fight for her against something or someone who slighted her in this world."
Celestia stood in thought, teleporting the empty cart away and back to the kitchen, "I...well I won't ask in detail, we're thankful for you, Arctus," he continued to stare at her, "something on your mind?"
"A couple things. Please leave the Aeternians to me, I'll dispatch any who oppose Equestria and try to win over those who operate alone," Celestia nodded, "and once I'm rested...would you celebrate with me? I purchased some cherry wine from that little outpost near the badlands."
"Of course," Celestia started to head to the door, "is there anything else you need before you rest up some more?"
"This is a selfish request," the alicorn turned her body back to him, showing that he had her full attention, "would you mind staying with me? Even while I rest and sleep?"
And of course, the Commander of the Sun would indulge in this request as much as he wanted her to. She may lose her composure over some words, but she wouldn't when it came to listening to a mutual need.
"Loneliness?"
"I just enjoy your company, Celestia," she trotted back over.
"I think you enjoy me, not just having company. It's nice to know someone at least learned something about friendship with the time they spent around me," she levitated the covers up some, some spite in her voice.
"What are you doing?" Arctus propped himself up with an elbow while Celestia took her royal adornments and crown off.
"Hmm? You didn't want my presence after all?"
"I...I appreciate you being here," Arctus wised up, "oh, that's a joke."
"Don't think I haven't seen the way you look at me, nor how our whole relationship first started. Even if you don't know what this is, I definitely do," she climbed into the bed, sliding close to him and lifting the Scout up with her wings, hugging him tight, "why else would you go so far out of the way to protect Equestria with me?"
He was cold, very cold despite the blankets that she warmed. She knew he had lost an incredible amount of blood butto be almost fully coherent in conversation while he was crippled like this was a testament to his endurance.
And to his commitment.
"Your fur is comfier than I imagined it would be."
"You've never touched a pony? Not even once?"
"Not even once."
"I'm glad to give you your first hug then."
"How did you know th-."
"Come now, your inexperience is an eye sore, don't pretend like I can't see through every window you opened for me," to her...Arctus was the same record, playing over and over and while she discovered new notes, she was also familiar each time she heard something she hadn't.
And he was her favorite record, always spinning everytime it was home.
"You truly are incredibly durable, but your time for talking is over," Celestia locked the door with her magic and drew the curtains in the room as the Sun was setting a very early that day.
But Equestria would understand.
"But there are still uncertainties to discuss."
"Shhh, it's time to sleep, there will always be uncertainties but you can not face them unless you are rested," she wrapped her hooves around him as she slept on her side, giving him all the warmth he needed.
She watched him close his eyes, a glint of bright white in them and in just a few seconds he was breathing deep and asleep.