The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

Arc awakens the next morning to the sun shining in his face. Groaning, he pushes the covers off of himself and sits up. Rubbing his eyes, Cherry calls out to him.

“Good morning, Arc. Did you sleep well?”

Arc sighs. “Kinda.”

“Well, how about we get you something to eat before heading back to…?”

She is cut off as the banging of pots and pans rings out from downstairs. Arc frowns as he sits up.

“That’s odd.”

“I thought everypony went back to Equestria long ago, Arc.”

“They did.”

Getting to his feet, Arc opens his bedroom door and creeps downstairs as quietly as possible. As he nears the kitchen however, he hears a familiar sound. Stopping, he wordlessly listens for a few moments before taking a deep breath and peeking around the corner. Standing in front of the stove, humming, is a woman. Seeing him she smiles and calls out.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Arc gasps. “M-mom?!”

“Arc, are you alright?”

“I, uh… I just…”

Putting a hand to his forehead, Arc tries to speak for a few moments before running forward and wrapping his arms around his mother. Smiling warmly, she returns the hug as he finds his voice.

“I love you, mom.”

“And I love you too, dear. But I don’t understand what you’re doing home.”

Arc grimaces. “Um…”

“You should have left early to catch your flight.”

Arc pulls back, confused. “Flight?”

His mother shakes her head. “Did you forget to set your alarm?”

“Oh! Um… no, I just… kinda thought I should stay here with you.”

“Well, that’s very sweet of you, Arc. But it’s not every day that you have the chance to study abroad.”

“But I don’t understand how you could be…?”

Moving his hands, he tries to finish the sentence, but fails. Eventually he shakes his head and sits down heavily in a chair. Giggling, his mother turns her attention back to the stove and continues cooking.

“Don’t worry, I’m almost done over here. And as long as you’re going to be staying here at home you might want to get moving on that term paper.”

Arc looks to her, confused. “Term paper?”

She turns her head. “You said you were going to the library to finish it the other day.”

“I was?”

“But with all your preparations to leave I doubt you got around to it.”

“I don’t… um… what was it for again?”

“For school, silly.”

“School? You mean… college?”

His mother grins as she turns around with a stack of pancakes on a plate. “What else, silly?!”

She sets the plate down and returns to the stove to make more. Cherry calls out to Arc telepathically.

“What is going on here, Arc?!”

“I don’t know! This is just so… so weird!”

“Isn’t your mother supposed to be… you know…?”

Arc sighs inwardly. “Death from liver failure when I was a child, yes.”

“She looks totally healthy though.”

“Agreed. Let me check something real quick.”

Picking up his glass of milk, Arc downs the entire contents before turning to the refrigerator. Opening it, he spies nothing but healthy fruits, vegetables, meats, juices, and of course milk. Pulling the jug out, he refills his glass before putting it back and returning to his place at the table. His mother looks over at him apologetically.

“I’m sorry, dear. Did I forget to fill up your glass?”

Arc shakes his head. “N-no, mom. I was just… really thirsty and drank it already.”

His mother smiles as she sets another plate on the table across from him. “Well, hurry up and eat your food before it gets cold.”

Arc looks at the plate, surprised. “You must be really hungry, mom.”

“Oh, no. That’s for…”

She is cut off as the back door opens and a man steps inside. Motioning to the food, she speaks.

“Perfect timing, dear.”

The man inhales deeply. “Thanks. Sure smells good.”

Arc whirls around to look at the newcomer.

“D-dad?!”

His father grins. “It’s me, yes.”

Mom nods out the window. “Your father was just getting an early morning trimming the hedges.”

Arc gasps. “Where have you been all this time though?!”

Dad appears confused. “Um… in the driveway mostly.”

Arc shakes his head. “No, no, no! I mean… you were gone for years!”

Arc’s father looks to his wife as he sits down at the table. “Um… is this some kind of game, Polta?”

Polta shrugs. “I’m not really sure.”

Arc looks all around. “But… didn’t dad disappear?!”

Dad chuckles. “I admit that I did take a bit longer getting milk the other day. Still a far cry from disappearing though.”

Polta nods. “Did you get that flat tire fixed yet?”

Dad chuckles as he cuts into his pancakes. “First thing this morning, yes.”

Arc puts a hand to his forehead. “I don’t…”

Polta puts a hand on his shoulders. “Honey, is something bothering you?”

Arc sighs. “It’s… complicated, mom.”

Dad points to the plate of pancakes. “Well, eat up, son. Things will look better on a full stomach.”

Polta sits down next to him with a smaller portion for herself. “And let me know if you want more.”

Nodding, Arc picks up his fork and begins eating. Looking to his father, he speaks.

“So… what have you been up to lately, dad?”

“Other than the hedges, you mean?”

“Yeah.”

Dad shrugs. “Not much since the base switched gears.”

Mom giggles. “On the robocop clones?”

“The androids, yes.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Switched gears to what?”

“New all-terrain vehicles. Amphibious ones too.”

“Anything else?”

Dad shakes his head. “All I do is make sure the base is secure. And due to its location, that’s a pretty easy job.”

“Where is it again?”

“That little island in the middle of the lake I used to take you camping on as a boy. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. But isn’t it supposed to be top secret?”

“Not in years, no. We’ve got a lot of civilian contractors in there at the moment doing a remodel.”

“What are they doing?”

“Now that the base is switching over from smaller android experiments to larger vehicles, they need a lot of open space between work stations. That along with overhead cranes, floor jacks, and conveyor belts.”

He looks at his watch before standing.

“Speaking of which, I need to get moving.”

Polta hands him his wallet. “Don’t forget this, dear!”

“Thank you, honey.”

They kiss lightly before Arc’s father heads out the back door. A few moments later the sound of his motorcycle moving down the driveway are heard. As it fades into the distance Polta looks to her son and smiles.

“You should get moving too, Arc. The library should be opening soon.”

Arc slowly stands. “Uh… yeah. I guess so.”

“Will you be home for lunch?”

“I’m not… really sure.”

“Well, if you are just be sure to call ahead and I’ll be happy to make you something.”

“Thanks… mom.”

Polta appears concerned. “Is something wrong, Arc?”

Arc smiles and shakes his head. “No. Nothing at all.”

She walks over to give him a hug which he returns. As they embrace, Arc continues.

“Everything is just perfect.”

Stepping back, Polta looks her son over and frowns.

“Um… did you sleep in your clothes last night?”

Arc looks down at himself. “Guess I did, yeah.”

Polta groans. “How didn’t I notice that?!”

“It’s really not that bad.”

“Not to worry. I did the laundry yesterday so you have plenty of options. Now scoot upstairs and get changed.”

Arc turns and heads for the stairs. “Yes mom.”

Returning to his room, he opens the closet and pulls out a pair of pants and a button-down shirt. Cherry calls out to his telepathically as he does so.

“Everything in here is nicely ironed and hung up properly.”

Arc nods. “That it is. And pretty much everything in here is pretty… um… what’s the word?”

“Semi-formal?”

“I was going to say business casual myself. But that works too.”

“You’ll look very nice in whatever you pick out of here.”

Arc looks down to see his shoes neatly lined up on the floor inside the closet. “I remember my mother doing things like this when I was a little kid. Before she became an alcoholic, that is. All my clothes would be ironed and hung up neatly just like my father’s uniforms were.”

“Although it seems a bit silly to get all dressed up just to go back to Equestria and start investigating things over there.”

“I, uh… think I want to explore this place a bit more.”

Cherry sounds confused. “Oh?”

“Nothing is right back in Equestria, granted. But it’s the same here. Well, the same inasmuch that nothing appears to be the way it’s supposed to be.”

Cherry sighs. “That much I do understand.”

“I still have a responsibility to this world too, you know.”

“It’s not like I could stop you even if I wanted to. Remember, I’m just a disembodied voice inside your head at the moment.”

Arc sits down on his bed to put on a pair of shoes. “Listen Cherry, I won’t force you to come with me to look around. If you really want me to, I’ll head back to Equestria right now.”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m sure you’d still like to know what’s going on here too.”

“That I do.”

“And I’d probably feel the same if I found my parents alive and well back at Cherry Hill Ranch.”

Arc sighs. “It’s not like I could have ever imagined this happening. Coming home to find them here, I mean.”

“So let’s figure out how it happened so we can do the same in Equestria afterwards.”

“Sounds good. But let me check something first.”

Taking a deep breath, Arc concentrates for a few moments silently. After a time, he opens them and looks around before sighing.

“Still here, huh?”

Cherry calls out. “Arc?”

“I was just making sure we weren’t in my Sanctuary, or something. So I tried to change things.”

He gestures around as he continues.

“And as you can see, nothing changed.”

“So this is the real world then?”

Arc shrugs. “Probably. But I’m still on the fence regarding what exactly happened.”

He leaves the room and heads downstairs. Arc’s mother is waiting for him by the back door with a backpack and his keys.

“Here you are, Arc.”

Arc smiles as he takes them. “Thanks mom.”

Kissing her cheek, Arc heads out the door and over to the garage. Opening the side door, he spies his Jeep and hops into it. Buckling up, he is about to put the key in the ignition before stopping and thinking. As he looks at the keys again, Cherry calls out.

“What is it, Arc?”

“It’s my keys.”

“The ones in your hand?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, my real keys are back in Equestria. Or at least they’re supposed to be.”

“Those really do look like them though.”

“That they do.”

“So what should we do?”

Arc shrugs. “Head to the library, I guess.”

“Why though?”

“You heard my mom. I have a report, or something, to do.”

“Huh?”

Arc sighs as he starts the vehicle. “That and I could certainly use a nice quiet place to… process everything.”

Pressing the button to open the garage door, Arc shifts into gear and heads out. Making the short drive to the local library he gets out, grabs his backpack, and heads inside. Entering a vacant study room, he closes and locks the door behind him. Setting his backpack on the table before him, Arc sits down.

“Alright. We should have some privacy in here now.”

Cherry speaks softly. “Are you sure nopony can hear us?”

Arc nods. “I am. These walls are made to keep noise in, at least to a degree. That and no one will think twice about hearing two sets of voices in here since they can’t see us.”

“That’s a relief!”

Arc opens his backpack. “Now then, let’s see what we have here.”

“Looking for clues?”

“Exactly. Guess we’ll start with what I’m supposed to be writing.”

Pulling the entire contents of his backpack out, Arc finds numerous pencils, pads of paper, erasers, folders, and textbooks. Picking up the books he looks their covers over one by one as he reads them aloud.

“Criminal justice, forensics, introduction to law, and writing composition.”

“Is that important, Arc?”

“Kinda. You see, not sure if I ever mentioned this to you in the past, but before I came to Equestria I had wanted to become a private investigator. Look into things for people whom needed help.”

He gestures to the books before continuing.

“And these textbooks are probably part of the curriculum for that career path.”

“What about the paper you’re supposed to be writing?”

“Let’s see here…”

Opening the folders, he finds a number of papers.

“Looks like an assignment sheet stating the requirements for this paper.”

Cherry groans. “It’s all foreign to me.”

“This looks like a pretty big project though. Not something one would do in an afternoon, mind you.”

“So… how far have you gotten on it?”

Arc looks in the notebooks. “Nowhere.”

“Huh?”

“It kinda makes sense, but I haven’t even started this assignment.”

“While part of me thinks we should get started on it, the more rational part of my brain says there are more important things to look into here.”

“Right. Um… let’s see here…”

Opening up the backpack’s pockets, he rummages around for a few moments. Eventually, Arc pulls something out.

“Here we go!”

“What is it?”

“My wallet.”

“I thought you usually kept that in your ring though.”

Arc smiles sheepishly. “Normally, yes. However, at the moment it’s lying next to my keys back in my room in Derpy’s house.”

“Then what is it doing here?”

Arc shrugs. “No idea. I had the same question regarding my keys though if you recall.”

“None of this makes any sense though!”

“We really need some sort of clue to get this ball rolling.”

“Something we can start with, yes.”

Arc looks at his wallet and grins. “And I think I just found one.”

“Your wallet?”

Arc nods. “Something inside of it, yes.”

Opening it, Arc pulls out a card.

“This.”

“Some form of identification?”

Arc shakes his head. “Not exactly. This is called a library card. It’s used to check books out to take home if need be.”

“But how does that help us?”

Arc stands. “You’ll see.”

Walking over to a computer terminal, Arc sits down in front of it and moves the mouse. Double clicking on an icon, he waits as a page is loaded. Glancing down periodically at his library card, he types the number printed on it into the box and presses ‘enter’. A list comes up on the screen a few moments later. Cherry calls out as it does.

“What is all this, Arc?”

“Books I checked out in the past.”

“There are quite a few. I wasn’t aware you had time to read all of these.”

Arc sighs. “I don’t.”

“Then why…?”

Arc interrupts her. “I never checked any of these out. But according to these records, I did.”

“While I know this sounds a bit hollow, could you have done so and then forgotten about it?”

Arc shakes his head. “One or two, maybe. But a list this long, no.”

Cherry sighs. “I felt a bit silly asking that question admittedly.”

“No, it’s a good point. We need to think about things from all possible angles, after all.”

“So… could there be some other ‘you’ here in this world?”

Arc folds his arms over his chest as he leans back in the chair. “That would be the most likely explanation, yes.”

“But if that’s true, why was your bed empty last night?”

Arc shrugs. “An equally interesting question.”

“If they were missing, your parents would have asked a lot of questions regarding your whereabouts.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “However, they acted as though nothing was wrong.”

“Um… there is one other possibility, Arc. Maybe you’re dead and this is supposed to be heaven.”

“I guess it could be. I mean… being reunited with my parents really is great, and all. Kinda thought it would be a bit different though. As it is, they’re more or less acting as though they’re just playing a part.”

He taps his chin lightly with a finger before frowning. Grabbing his things, he hastily shoves them back into the backpack before hefting it over his shoulder. As Arc heads for the door, he calls out to Cherry.

“Just had an idea.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”

Returning to the parking lot, Arc hops into the Jeep and starts it. Turning out of the parking lot, he drives through town until they reach the city limits. Frowning, Arc calls out.

“We’re on our way.”

Cherry sounds confused. “To where though?”

“Just out to the countryside.”

“Do you think there’s a clue to be found out here?”

“Maybe. I was just thinking about my date a while back with Applejack back on Earth.”

“What about it?”

Arc frowns. “All of this is just a bit too perfect to be real.”

Pulling off to the side of the road Arc hops out and looks around. Shaking his head he calls out loudly.

“This is the Celestial Realm! You’re upset with me again, or something!”

Arc listens but hears nothing but the sounds of birdsong. Eventually, he continues.

“Look, I already said I was sorry about the whole changeling hive incident! We should move past it! I have!”

Frowning, he folds his arms over his chest.

“What do you want?! Me to say I’m sorry again?! Well, I’m sorry! Happy?!”

Again, nothing but birdsong fills the air. Grunting, Arc heads back to the Jeep and starts it. Putting the vehicle into gear, he continues driving down the road angrily muttering to himself.

“Darn crazy alicorn princess.”

Cherry gasps. “ARC! Princess Celestia might hear you!”

Arc calls out loudly again. “I hope she does because I mean it! At this point she is totally out of control!”

“And so are you! Please calm down!”

Arc frowns. “That’s something I can’t do here. Need to get out of the Celestial Realm.”

“But how?”

“First, I have to prove that we’re inside of it.”

“By doing what? Driving?”

Arc smirks. “In a matter of speaking. Celestia told Applejack and I that she used the memories in our minds to alter the Celestial Realm in an effort to make it a near perfect imitation for us.”

“And you think she’s doing that right now?”

Arc nods. “It makes sense, yes.”

“But how will driving do anything?”

“Like I said, she used our memories to shape the world around us into a believable facsimile. So I just have to drive further out and in a different direction than I ever have before.”

“Then she won’t know what comes next because you yourself won’t know.”

Arc chuckles. “Exactly.”

Looking around, Arc calls out loudly again.

“You might as well end this now, princess! I’m going to run out of things for you to copy from my brain in about two hours!”

Again, his words are met with silence. Shrugging, Arc turns to look forward again as he continues.

“Fine then. Eventually you’ll run out of proverbial road to materialize.”

Several hours later the Jeep pulls back into Angel Grove. Cherry sighs as she calls out to him.

“So what have we learned here?”

Arc groans. “Either we’re really on Earth or Celestia has an extremely vivid imagination with which to create something plausible.”

“I’m betting on the first one.”

Arc sighs. “So am I.”

“That means the couple in your house really are your parents though.”

Arc smiles. “Yeah. That’s a plus.”

“But Equestria is still in trouble.”

“We should probably get back there and see about figuring that out soon then.”

His stomach growls as Arc looks down at it. Cherry giggles.

“Maybe we should get you something to eat first though.”

“That would probably be a good idea. I haven’t eaten since breakfast and it’s way past noon.”

“And who knows where we’ll find food back in Equestria.”

“We can hit up Shelly’s Kitchen then. It’s just down the road, after all.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Pulling into the parking lot, Arc parks the Jeep and heads inside. Seeing someone turning the sign to ‘closed’ he throws up a hand. Spotting him, Frank grins and unlocks the door to let his friend inside.

“Hey, Frank.”

“Afternoon, Arc. We were just about to close up for the day.”

“Sorry about barging in here like this then. I’ve been on the road all morning and need something to fill me up.”

Frank nods as he walks over to the counter for an order pad. “What can we get for you today?”

“Have Jackal make me a cheeseburger and a side of fries to go, please.”

Frank writes down the order. “I’ll put that right in for you.”

Arc looks around. “Um… is Lily around?”

Frank nods. “Upstairs going over today’s receipts at the moment.”

Arc breathes a sigh of relief. “Good!”

“I’ll help Jackal throw your order together. Just give us just a few minutes. That and I’ll call upstairs to let Lily know you’re coming up.”

Heading to the kitchen, Frank returns just a short time later with a plate of steaming food. Gesturing to the stairs, he smiles slyly at Arc.

“Head on up with your meal, Arc. And be sure to tell Lily that we’ll finish cleaning up down here in just a few minutes and head out.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Um… okay, sure.”

Walking upstairs with his plate, Arc pushes the door open and calls out.

“Lily!”

Lily calls out from her bedroom. “I’m getting changed! Be out in a minute!”

Shrugging, Arc walks over to the kitchen table and sits down to eat. A few minutes later he hears the bedroom door open and footsteps walking toward the kitchen. As he turns to greet his old friend, Arc can only sit there in utter shock. Standing before him in an apron (and apparently nothing else) is Lily. Doing a little twirl (which confirms Arc’s suspicions regarding her lack of clothing) she smiles and puts a hand on her hip.

“Hey there, handsome.”

Arc blushes. “L-Lily?! What are you doing?!”

Lily walks toward the stove. “I was just about to make myself a grilled cheese sandwich and didn’t want to burn myself.”

Arc shakes his head as he turns to look down at his plate. “No, no! I mean… why are you naked?!”

Lily giggles. “Because you’re here, silly!”

Looking over she spies his red cheeks. Walking over to stand behind him, Lily puts her arms around him and leans down to rest her chin on his shoulder.

“Come on, don’t be like that. After all, you’ve seen me naked more times than I can remember.”

“I… I have?!”

Lily lightly kisses his neck. “And more.”

“Um… can we talk?”

Lily continues kissing him. “Sure. Want to get into bed first though?”

“What?!”

Lily appears confused. “Like you’ve said in the past, it’s where we have our best conversations, after all.”

Arc shakes his head. “No, no! I meant just here at the table!”

“If you want to, sure. But I still need to cook myself something.”

“Tell you what. If you’ll just get dressed, I’ll make you a grilled cheese sandwich.”

“Aw… that’s sweet of you, Arc. But I know you like seeing me like this.”

Arc looks away nervously. “Well, I… I just don’t want you to catch a cold.”

“Alright. Be back in a bit.”

Leaning over, she kisses him on the cheek before walking back to her bedroom. Standing, Arc plants both of his hands on the table to steady himself as Cherry calls out to him telepathically.

“Arc, are you alright?”

“I certainly was not expecting that!”

“Why so upset though? I mean… you’ve seen Hammer, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash bare in their human forms.”

“Yeah. But that’s different. Lily is… just a friend. At least she’s supposed to be.”

Cherry sighs. “I still don’t understand the problem here. I mean… you do care about Lily, after all.”

“Not like that though.”

“Well, you kissed her in the pantry some time ago. Twice, if I remember correctly.”

“That was just a one-time thing though. But Lily was saying just now that we regularly sleep together.”

Cherry grunts. “Something is very wrong here.”

“I’ll say. But I think I know what’s going on now.”

Cherry sounds confused. “Oh? Do tell.”

Arc walks over to the refrigerator and pulls out butter and cheese. “Let me take care of this first though. We can talk about it later.”

Getting a pan, Arc starts making Lily’s grilled cheese sandwich. A short time later she returns to the kitchen wearing her waitress uniform. Arc turns to her as he removes the sandwich from the pan and transfers it to a plate. Looking her up and down as he approaches and sets the plate before her, Arc speaks.

“Much better.”

Lily appears confused. “Huh?”

“I was just saying that you look nice.”

Lily smiles wickedly as she picks up her sandwich. “Right. I get it.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Lily?”

“I know how much you like me in a dress.”

“Well, you’ve always been…”

Lily interrupts him. “Easy access. But it’s still not as simple as my apron that you had me take off.”

“Come on, Lily. I don’t think you want Shelly seeing you in such a thing. It’d make her really uncomfortable.”

Lily sighs. “Yes, I suppose so. After all, I’m sure she’s looking down on us from time to time.”

Arc grimaces. “Looking down on?”

“We should visit her grave along with Frank again soon. Shelly would probably like that, I think.”

Arc stands there for a few moments before putting a hand to his forehead.

“Would you excuse me for a few moments, please?”

Withing waiting for a response, Arc walks quickly to the bathroom. Closing the door behind him he sits down on the toilet lid and puts his face in his hands. Cherry calls out to him.

“Arc… I know this is hard for you, but…”

Arc cuts her off. “This is all wrong!”

“Agreed. Shelly was just fine before.”

“It’s all wrong here! Nothing’s as it should be!”

Shaking his head, Arc takes a few minutes to compose himself before leaving the bathroom and turning to Shelly’s closed bedroom door. Opening it, he looks inside. Lily stands and walks over to join him. Putting her arm around his waist, she smiles sadly.

“It’s exactly the way it was when she left that day.”

Arc nods soberly. “Shelly was always a very tidy person.”

Lily sighs wistfully. “I knew that day when she went to the hospital that she wasn’t coming back.”

“Were you with her the whole time?”

Lily nods. “Frank, you, and I never left her side.”

Closing her eyes, she leans her head against Arc’s shoulder as she continues.

“I can still remember her final moments. Even though Shelly must’ve been in excruciating pain by that point, she reached out and took my hand. Holding it out to you, she said ‘take care of Lily for me’.”

Lily looks up at Arc as she sighs.

“And as soon as you took my hand, Shelly stopped breathing. That was the end of her battle with the disease.”

Arc sighs as he walks over to Shelly’s bed and sits down. “It… it shouldn’t have ended that way.”

Lily sits down next to him. “I know, Arc. Shelly should have lived a lot longer. We all could have spent our lives together. Just the four of us running the restaurant until we all retired.”

“Shelly deserved better than that.”

Lily looks around the room. “Every morning I still knock on her door to wake her up like I always did before. At first it was just an old habit of mine. But then I continued doing it to remember her and the good times we had.”

Arc puts an arm around Lily and smiles at her. “The three of us are still together though.”

Lily smiles and leans her head on his shoulder. “And we always will be.”

“I… I sure hope so.”

Lily stands and grabs Arc’s hand. “Well, if Shelly were here right now, she’d probably be telling us to stop talking and go eat something.”

Arc nods as he follows Lily back to the kitchen. “Probably, yes.”

“So let’s take care of that.”

Returning to their food, the pair go back to eating. Lily looks up at him and smiles.

“Thanks for making this for me.”

“It’s… the least I could do. I mean, you spend all day cooking for others, after all.”

“How’s school going?”

Arc looks away. “Um… okay, I guess.”

“Get started on that report?”

“Went to the library this morning. But couldn’t concentrate on it.”

“Well, don’t put it off too long. After all, I’m just as anxious for you to graduate as you are.”

Arc suddenly stands. “In any case, I should probably get moving.”

Lily appears hopeful. “Can I assume that you found your inspiration for that report?”

“Something like that.”

He heads for the door as Lily follows him. Taking his hand, she wraps her arms around him happily before looking up at him and closing her eyes. Arc takes a deep breath and leans down to kiss her. There is a light snap as their lips meet. Drawing back, she giggles as he opens the door.

“Let me know if you get done early, Arc. I’d still like for us to have one of our ‘in bed talks’.”

Arc looks away nervously. “I’ll have to get back to you on that.”

Lily smiles. “See you later!”

Making his way down the stairs, Arc leaves via the front door of the restaurant as a woman walks out from around the building. Looking inside she sees the darkened windows and groans.

“Darn it! Forgot they closed at…!”

Arc gasps. “Hammer?!”

Hammer appears confused. “Um… hi?”

“What are you doing here?!”

“Getting lunch. But I guess I lost track of time and didn’t make it here before…”

Arc shakes his head. “What were you working on?”

Hammer frowns. “First off, do I know you?”

“Yeah! It’s me, Arc!”

“Who?”

Arc groans. “Arc!”

“Can’t say as I recall the name.”

“What are you talking about?! You’re totally smitten with me!”

Hammer frowns. “Smitten?!”

“How can you not remember me?!”

Hammer folds her arms over her chest as she glares at him. “Look, I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to play here fellah, but I’m single and happy to be so.”

She turns to leave as she continues talking.

“Now take a hike!”

Getting back into her military Jeep, Arc watches Hammer drive away. Frowning, he thinks for a moment before speaking.

“Interesting.”

“How so?”

“Not sure how I didn’t think of this sooner, but I just figured out a sure-fire way to test something.”

Walking back over to his Jeep, Arc opens the driver’s side door and leans down to pop the hood. Making his way back to the front of the vehicle, he takes a deep breath before lifting the hood and looking at the engine. Grinning, he calls out to Cherry.

“Paydirt!”

“Um… what?”

Arc points a finger. “Look at the engine!”

“What about it?”

“Don’t you see?! It’s the old one! From before!”

“Before it was destroyed by King Malevolence, you mean?”

Arc nods as he closes the hood. “Right. Hammer never had to make me a new one.”

“So… what does that mean?”

“That we’re in some kind of parallel universe rather than the Celestial Realm.”

“Are you sure?”

Arc grins as he gets into the Jeep. “Positive. Had this been Celestia’s doing, she would have made it as close to perfect as possible.”

“Then that means that the Equestria we came here from was what? A fake?”

Arc shakes his head. “Not really fake, but different. Just like this version of Earth.”

“Your parents still being alive?”

Arc sighs. “And Shelly… you know.”

“Like you said. It’s different.”

“All I can figure at this point is that in this alternate world Twilight never pulled me into Equestria with the Crystal Mirror. And as such, I was never able to find Doctor Knowles to cure Shelly before she died.”

Cherry groans. “I’m sorry to hear that, Arc.”

“That still leaves me with one question though.”

“Which is…?”

“What am I supposed to do now?”

“Well… I suppose worst case scenario you could keep living with your parents.”

“It seems like Lily and I are an item here though.”

“Not sure how that happened.”

“I am.”

“Do tell.”

Arc looks out the window at the restaurant. “Well, with me being here on Earth full time rather than going to Equestria a few years ago, Lily must have somehow found the courage to say something to me about her feelings sooner. Since I never met any of the mares, Auriel, or Hammer I must’ve chosen to reciprocate her feelings.”

Cherry sighs wistfully. “And you spent the past few years getting to know each other better and falling in love.”

Arc blushes slightly. “And more it would seem.”

Cherry giggles. “Yes, it does seem that you and her are very involved.”

“That’s actually the problem.”

“I don’t really see how. After all, you do care about her.”

Arc shakes his head. “No, no. I mean it’s a problem for me.”

“How so?”

“I mean the other me. The one whom actually belongs here.”

“Your mother said that you, I mean the other you, were supposed to go somewhere for schooling early this morning.”

“He probably took a cab to the airport to avoid having to pay for parking.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“Because that’s what I would have done.”

“So he’s out of the picture for a while.”

Arc nods. “At least a semester I would imagine.”

“How long is that?”

“Months.”

“What if he calls though?”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “That is a sobering thought.”

“Imagine your mother picking up the phone while you’re sitting at the kitchen table eating and it’s you. Well, the other version of you.”

Arc sighs. “Great. I can’t stay here then.”

“Then where will you go, Arc?”

“Back to Equestria. We need to figure out what’s going on over there, find a way to fix it, and get the princesses of this alternate reality to help me find a way back to our home world.”

“What if they don’t believe you though?”

Arc shrugs. “Probably won’t at first. But if we can fix their world, they’ll be indebted to us.”

“So you can make the request of them to have the sages figure out how to send us back.”

“Exactly.”

“What’s our next move then?”

“Putting this Jeep back where we found it and quietly leaving.”

Cherry gasps. “Without telling your parents?!”

Arc shrugs. “That’s probably for the best, you know.”

“But it’ll just look like you disappeared!”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “And they would start asking some really tricky questions. Worst case scenario, I’m assuming they have the contact information on where the other me is staying wherever they went.”

“They could call him and find out that he did leave today!”

“So we need to come up with something to make our disappearance plausible.”

“Right.”

“I guess the easiest way would be to tell them that I changed my mind about going out of state.”

“How soon could we leave then?”

“Probably tonight. I’ll just tell my parents that I have a flight in the morning early and that I’ll take a cab to the airport.”

“Would that work?”

Arc shrugs. “It’s plausible. That and such a plan has a high chance of succeeding because it’s so simple. Less to go wrong.”

“I suppose so. Do we head back now though? I mean… it’s still early afternoon.”

Arc nods to the building. “Either that or we could go back upstairs and spend the day with Lily.”

Frowning, he shakes his head before continuing.

“Probably not a good idea though. Lily might get ideas if we hang around her.”

“Is that really so wrong though? I mean… she does appear to be completely smitten with you.”

Arc sighs. “I believe so, yes. After all, it’s not me whom she’s in love with, but the other version of ‘me’. Admittedly that sounded better in my head.”

“So you think it’s cheating?”

Arc shrugs. “Kinda is. That and what would the others think?”

Cherry sighs. “I suppose so. But that still leaves the matter of what to do until suppertime.”

“We could go back to the library.”

“Good idea. You still have that report to do.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Uh… you mean the other me has a report to do, right?”

Cherry groans. “Not sure why I’m having such a hard time wrapping my mind around this whole thing.”

Arc puts the vehicle into gear. “Well, there is one thing we should do before leaving.”

Turning out of the parking lot, Arc starts driving. A short time later they pull into a shady, tree filled driveway. After parking, Arc gets out and looks around. As he walks down a path Arc looks from side to side before turning off the path and stepping onto the grass.

“Here we are.”

Before him sits a simple tombstone bearing Shelly’s name. Cherry sighs.

“She’s really gone.”

Arc nods soberly. “Yeah. Just like Lily said.”

Sitting down on the ground in front of the stone, Arc looks it over for a long moment before speaking.

“Hey, Shelly. Um… I…”

He shakes his head before continuing.

“This is all wrong.”

Cherry sounds confused. “Arc?”

“I went with Lily and Shelly to pick out this headstone a number of years ago. That’s how I was able to find it.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Because it wasn’t me whom did that! It was the other me!”

Looking to the grave again, Arc continues.

“Shelly, I need to confess something to you. The truth of the matter is that you… you didn’t need to die. There was a doctor back in Equestria, well Tartarus, whom could have cured you. You, Lily, Frank, and myself… we all could have lived side by side like we always talked about when we were kids.”

He puts a hand on the stone before him.

“If I had been pulled through to Equestria by Twilight it would have started a chain reaction of choices that led to your survival.”

Cherry calls out softly. “Arc… you can’t blame yourself for what happened to the Shelly in this alternate world. There was nothing you or the other you could have done to prevent this.”

Arc nods. “I know. But at the same time, that doesn’t change the fact that Shelly is dead.”

Cherry sighs. “As it stands, we can’t go back in time to change things. All we can do is try to help anypony still alive back in Equestria tomorrow.”

“There’s one thing I can do here though.”

“What’s that?”

Arc turns back to the grave. “Keep Shelly company for the moment.”

Arc leans against the back on the tombstone and smiles. Starting from the beginning, Arc tells her about his adventures early on in Equestria. How he became the Hero of Light, gained magical powers, fought for the pony nation, and had found love with a number of mares, a dragon, a demon, and a young woman. He moves on to speak about how his world’s version of Shelly and Lily are doing well after she was cured. How they opened a restaurant back in Equestria in the town of Ponyville. And how they had made a new life there with him. As the sun begins to set, Arc stands and puts his hands on the tombstone before ending his speech.

“I really don’t know how I got here, Shelly. Whether it was Princess Celestia’s doing, Wiseman, Kronos, the Dark One, or someone I haven’t even met yet. Heck, maybe it’s just a colossal cosmic accident that I was transported here. While that last one doesn’t really make much sense, I guess it doesn’t really matter at this point. All I can do now is head back to Equestria and fix things so as to start down a new path that ends with me finding a way back home. Well, to my version of home, that is.”

Sighing, he traces the top of the headstone with his hand before turning away and returning to the Jeep. Leaning back against the headrest, he looks out at Shelly’s grave and sighs.

“I hope this world’s versions of myself and Lily visit you regularly, Shelly.”

“If they’re anything like you are, they will.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Cherry sighs. “Shelly wouldn’t have wanted you to be held back by her death. Remember what Lily said earlier today.”

Arc nods. “That Shelly’s final words were for me to take care of Lily. Well, the other me.”

“Right. She apparently wasn’t bothered by the imminent approach of her own death. But just wanted to make sure that Lily would be cared for and happy.”

“She does appear to have moved on nicely.”

“Probably because in this world’s you were there for her along with Frank.”

“Yeah.”

Sighing, he turns the key and starts the vehicle. Looking at the grave one last time, Arc shakes his head and groans.

“I’ll make sure I get back to my Earth someday. After all, I don’t want any of my friends to pass on without knowing what happened to me. To be forced to die wondering what my fate was. That and I want to be there for them in both the good times and the bad. Just like Shelly was.”

Putting the vehicle into gear, Arc drives away. Making his way back to his parent’s house, he backs into the garage and heads inside. His mother is just putting a pot on the table as he does so. Smiling, she looks to him.

“Welcome home, Arc.”

Arc closes the door behind him. “Uh… hey.”

Polta pulls out a chair. “Have a seat. Your father is just using the bathroom before supper.”

Doing as he is told, Arc sits down. A few moments later his father joins them at the table and begins serving the food. His mother looks to him.

“So how was your day, Arc?”

“It was very… informative.”

Dad smiles at him. “Oh? You get that report done for school then?”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Couldn’t really focus on it. So I went to visit Lily at the restaurant.”

Polta nods. “How’s she doing?”

“Good. We had lunch together.”

Dad smirks. “I’m sure she liked that.”

Polta puts a hand on Arc’s shoulder. “She’s such a nice girl.”

Arc’s father chuckles as he serves his son. “I was kinda surprised that you came home then after that.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Why’s that, dad?”

“Usually when you go over there you stay all day.”

Polta nods. “And then half the time you spend the night at the restaurant.”

Arc blushes. “Ah! Well… I had other places to be.”

Polta appears suddenly worried. “You didn’t have a fight with her or anything, did you?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, mom. I just… we talked about some things. Like the future.

Polta claps her hands. “So you finally popped the question?!”

Arc’s father looks to his son. “Well… did you, son?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, no! I… we talked about me going on that trip for school.”

Polta sighs. “So you decided to go after all?”

“Yeah. I’ve already got a plane ticket lined up and everything.”

“When do you leave?”

“Early tomorrow. My flight takes off at three in the morning.”

Polta smiles. “I can get up and make you breakfast.”

Arc shakes his head. “That’s okay, mom. You need your sleep, after all.”

His father gestures out the window. “Need me to drive you to the airport, son?”

“I was actually planning on taking a taxi. But thanks.”

Polta sighs. “My baby boy is finally leaving home.”

“Now, Polta… you knew this day was coming eventually.”

“Yes, I know, honey.”

She turns to Arc before continuing.

“Hurry up and eat so you can get packed and get to bed early.”

Arc smiles. “I will, mom.”

“Your mother and I will watch out for Lily while you’re gone.”

“Thanks.”

After supper, Arc returns to his room. His mother helps him pack things properly in a suitcase before turning to him and smiling.

“That should be everything you need, Arc.”

“Thanks, mom.”

A knock rings out from the open door. Turning, they see his father standing in the doorway. Looking to the suitcase, he speaks.

“All packed, son?”

Arc nods. “Yeah, dad.”

Polta turns to her husband. “We just finished actually.”

Stepping forward, Arc’s father puts a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Tomorrow really is the big day, huh?”

“Y-yup.”

“I remember the first time I left home as a lad. It was a… difficult time for me.”

“It was?”

“Yes. I was leaving behind everything I had ever known to join the military. But you know what kept me going?”

“What?”

He looks to Polta. “The knowledge that I had someone special waiting for me back here in Angel Grove.”

Polta puts an arm around her husband. “So as soon as your father could, he requested a transfer to the base just outside of town. That way he could be close to me.”

“Right. I asked your mom to marry me and she accepted.”

Polta smiles at him. “And nine months later you came along, Arc.”

Arc grimaces. “Dad, I… I don’t understand. Why are you telling me all this now?”

“Because I know that someday you’ll follow in my footsteps. You’ll finish school, get your career on track, and come back to Angel Grove to be with Lily.”

Polta giggles. “And us too.”

“Right.”

Arc nods soberly. “I will. Someday.”

With a smile, Arc’s father puts a hand on his son’s shoulder and nods.

“That you will, son. That you will.”

Turning to his wife, Arc’s father continues.

“Well, we should let our boy get some sleep. Morning comes early for him, after all.”

Polta sighs. “Yes, I suppose we should.”

She walks over to her son and wraps her arms around Arc. Reciprocating the hug, he kisses his mother on top of her head and smiles warmly.

“I love you, mom.”

“And I love you too, Arc.”

Arc’s father smiles as he extends a hand. “Take care of yourself out there.”

Arc turns and throws his arms around his father. Grinning as his father returns the hug Arc speaks.

“Take good care of mom while I’m gone, dad.”

“I will. Promise.”

The pair leave the room together. Arc watches as the door closes behind them with a slight click. Sitting down on his bed, he puts his face in his hands and sighs heavily. Cherry calls out to him telepathically as he does so.

“Arc? Are you alright?”

“I just… I just got them back.”

“Your parents?”

Arc nods. “Yeah. And now I’m leaving them behind again.”

“That may be, Arc. But you and I both know that this is for the best. After all, this world has its own version of you in it. And he deserves to have his rightful place in their lives.”

“I know, but… I still wish that I could have spent more time here with my… his parents. Growing up without them really was hard on me. I had to figure things out for myself and try to pass that on to the other kids at the orphanage.”

“We’ll find a way back to our world, Arc. Dimension, I guess. But we can’t do that sitting here and taking somepony else’s spot.”

Arc lays down on his back and stares up at the ceiling. “I suppose not. However… I kinda wish I could have met myself. Told him just how lucky he was to have them.”

Cherry giggles. “If he’s anything like you, Arc, I’m sure he already knows.”

Reaching out a hand, Arc flicks the light switch with a Telekinesis Spell and closes his eyes. A short time later he falls fast asleep. In but a moment he hears his alarm clock going off though. Sitting up, Arc shuts it off and stands. Walking to the bathroom, he showers, dresses, brushes his teeth, and heads to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator door he spies a plate of food with a note on it. Picking it up, he reads it aloud.

“Eat up. Love you, Arc. Mom.”

Smiling, Arc sits down at the table and pulls the plastic wrap from the top of the plate. Eating it quickly, he puts the empty dish in the sink before heading into the living room. Grabbing the phone book from its place he looks up a number and dials it. Speaking his address, he hangs up and calls out to Cherry telepathically.

“A cab is on its way.”

Cherry giggles. “You’re taking a cab to Equestria?”

Arc chuckles. “Kinda. But I’m actually just trying to make this whole thing plausible for my parents. Just in case they’re awake and see me leave.”

A short time later a yellow cab pulls up in front of the house. Arc walks over to it as the cabbie opens the trunk and puts his suitcase in. Getting in the back seat, Arc looks up at his parents’ window to see them both looking out at him and waving goodbye. He waves back to them as the cab pulls away from the curb. The cabbie glances over to Arc as they drive.

“Airport or bus station?”

“Airport please.”

Nodding, the driver turns the wheel and begins driving. Sometime later they arrive at their destination. Handing the cabbie some money, Arc gets out and grabs his suitcase from the trunk before heading inside the building. Cherry calls out to him telepathically as he does so.

“Um… what are we doing here, Arc?”

“Just one last thing to make the story complete. I don’t like lying to my parents, after all.”

“Lying?”

“That I was going to catch a flight early this morning to leave town.”

“So we’re actually going to get on an airship?”

“Here they’re called ‘airplanes’, Cherry. And not exactly, no.”

Heading for the bathroom, Arc walks into a unisex bathroom and closes the door behind him. Calling forth the Rainbow of Light from his ring, Arc looks at it for a long moment. Eventually, Cherry calls out to him.

“Arc… it’s time to go.”

Arc sighs. “Yes, I know. But… every fiber of my being wants to just stay here and live out my life.”

“What about the others though? The herd and your other friends, Arc?”

Arc nods soberly as he looks down at the pendant in his hand. “That’s the only thing keeping me moving forward at this point.”

The door opens behind him and a disheveled looking man walks inside. Seeing Arc, he moves to step back as he speaks.

“Sorry fellah. I didn’t know this one was occupied.”

Arc chuckles. “It’s fine. After all, I was just leaving.”

Channeling his magic into the Rainbow of Light, Arc opens a portal and looks over his shoulder to the man.

“All yours now.”

Making his way through the portal, Arc vanishes from sight as it closes behind him. The man stands there for a few moments before stepping inside and doing his business. As he turns to leave, he stops and reaches into his overcoat pocket. Soberly pulling out a number of bottles of airline alcohol he looks at them for a few moments. Tossing them into the trash can one at a time he mutters to himself.

“Think I’ve had enough of this stuff if it’s making me see weird things like that.”