The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

Arc reappears on the sigil in Fluttershy’s cottage. As it closes behind him, he looks around for a few moments, unmoving. After a few minutes of silence Cherry calls out to him.

“Um… is something wrong, Arc?”

Arc shrugs. “Maybe. I was… just searching for fresh hoofprints in the dust on the floor.”

Cherry sighs. “All I see are the ones you made when we came here the first time.”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t quite follow your logic on this.”

“Think about it, Cherry. Had Fluttershy, or anyone else for that matter, came back here since we departed they would have left hoofprints.”

“Ah! Well… it takes a long time for that much dust to settle in the first place though.”

“That it does. But I was hoping against hope that we’d find signs of life. Fluttershy, or otherwise that is.”

“So, what should we do now? Head for Canterlot?”

Arc shrugs. “Like we agreed on last time. That’d be one heck of a walk.”

“But it’s also the most likely place for us to get some help. After all, the princesses must be working on… whatever it is that happened here.”

“I suppose that’s true. However, I’m also not looking forward to the mountainous part of our trip in the pump cart.”

Cherry groans at this realization. “Which we left back in Dodge Junction, I might add.”

“There’s that too. We’d first have to go there to get it first.”

Arc facepalms as he continues.

“That and I just realized that I never created a sigil back there. So we would literally have to walk there to get it first.”

Cherry sighs. “Back to square one then in the matter of our next step.”

“Yes, well… I think we should head outside and take a walk before the sun rises. See if we can find anything of note in town.”

Cherry sounds confused. “But we did that the last time we were here, Arc.”

“Right. However, that was before I figured out that this isn’t the real Equestria. And by ‘real’ I mean that this is an alternate version of it, that is.”

“So you think that our friends back home are most likely just fine?”

Arc nods. “No reason why they wouldn’t be.”

“That’s a relief! But at the same time, the inhabitants on this land are still missing.”

Arc heads for the door. “Right. Let’s head back into town and see if we missed something in Derpy’s cottage.”

“Why there though?”

“Just a hunch.”

Leaving Fluttershy’s cottage, Arc walks down the path toward town. Making his way back to Derpy’s small house Arc enters via the front door and looks around again. Walking over to the fireplace, he sees Derpy’s old mat lying there. Picking it up, he shakes the dust off of it before laying it back in its place. However, as he straightens up, Arc spies movement outside the window.

“Something’s out there!”

“Oh?! What though?!”

Hurrying to the window, Arc looks out it. In the moonlight he spies a small robed figure making its way across his line of sight. Cherry calls out to him.

“Can you tell whom it is?!”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Just that they’re small. And apparently don’t want to be seen.”

“Should we follow them?!”

Arc nods. “Might as well. With luck, they could lead us to the others.”

Pulling a magic cloak from his ring, Arc quickly puts it on and heads for the back door. Blinking through it, he spies the figure a short distance away. Slowly and carefully following them around the outside of town, they eventually lead Arc toward the cemetery. Stopping in front of a pair of headstones, the figure sits down on their haunches silently. After a few moments, the figure pulls something out and lays it on the ground in front of the headstones. Cherry calls out to Arc telepathically.

“Is that a… a foal?”

“Looks like it from the size.”

Cherry groans. “Oh no! They must be visiting their parent’s graves!”

“I sure don’t want to interrupt that.”

“So, what are we supposed to do then, Arc?”

“We’ll just give them some time to do their thing here before following them on their way.”

“Good idea. Then we can make contact.”

Arc sighs. “That and reappearing inside a graveyard would give anyone a heart attack. Foal or otherwise.”

A few minutes later the figure stands and looks around at a slight sound. Hearing nothing more the relax again. However, as the foal returns their gaze to the tombstones before them, a pair of armored stallions quietly walk around the side of a nearby mausoleum. Cherry telepathically calls out, relieved.

“Oh, thank goodness! Royal guards!”

Arc grins. “Good luck for us. They’ll be certain to have some answers for us.”

“We should probably decloak and talk to them, Arc. Maybe they know what happened here in Ponyville.”

“In a minute, Cherry. I want to see what they have to say to that foal first.”

Making their way over to the robed foal, the guards leap forward and tackle them. As one of them holds the foal down the other rips the cloak from their body. They kick frantically, but are easily overpowered by the stallion’s size and strength. A set of small chains are pulled from a saddlebag as they restrain them. Frowning, Arc walks over to the group and decloaks.

“Um… excuse me.”

The guards stop and turn to him. Looking Arc up and down for a few moments, they quickly stand and call out to him.

“You’re under arrest, creature!”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Am I now? On what charges, might I ask?”

“Surrender yourself to us immediately or face the consequences!”

Arc pulls aside his cloak to reveal the Crest of Light on his shoulder. “Not gonna happen. As you can clearly see, I’m the Hero of Light and as such am above such things.”

The guards draw their weapons and take up a battle-ready position.

“On the ground! Now!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest “Like I told you, that’s not going to happen.”

One guard looks to his companion. “It must be after our little fugitive!”

“We can’t let her escape!”

The guard turns back to Arc as he raises his voice. “Kill the little one quickly now and then help me deal with this thing then!”

As the guards turns toward the foal lying in the grass, Arc watches fear fill the foals’ eyes and they once again attempt to escape from their bindings. Reaching out a hand, Arc picks up the stallions and holds them in the air angrily.

“What are you two thinking?! That’s just a foal!”

The guards attempt to break free of his grasp as they call out.

“She must not be allowed to escape!”

“Your interference in this official matter has earned you a death warrant, scum!”

Arc grits his teeth angrily before turning to the foal lying in the grass nearby.

“Close your eyes, little one.”

The foal quickly does so as Arc tightens his magical grip on the stallion’s throats. Frowning, he speaks to them.

“Are you willing to surrender to me now?”

Sneering, the guards continue to resist.

“You won’t get away with assaulting the Royal Guard, traitor!”

“That foal must die!”

Seething at their clear intent to murder a helpless foal, Arc clenches his fists. There is a slight cracking sound as the stallions’ windpipes are crushed. Releasing them, Arc allows their dead bodies to fall to the ground in a heap. Walking past their twitching forms he approaches the foal whom is still squeezing their eyes shut. Kneeling down, he gasps.

“What the… Platinum Valve?!”

Platinum Valve opens her eyes, confused. “Huh?”

Arc looks to her chains. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of these things.”

Platinum Valve sighs. “That’s not likely. They’re both unbreakable and pickproof.”

Arc reaches for his ring. “Well, I think I have a key.”

Pulling out his guardanium knife, Arc reaches forward. Channeling his magic into the blade, he deftly slices through the chains. They fall away from the young filly onto the ground as she gasps.

“How did you..?!”

Looking to the knife, she frowns.

“What is…?!”

Arc interrupts her as he holds up a gauntlet. “Not now. We need to get out of here before talking.”

Opening a portal, he grabs Platinum Valve and charges though with her. Arriving back in Fluttershy’s cottage, Arc carefully sets her down on the couch and kneels down to her level.

“Are you okay? Those guards didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Platinum Valve shakes her head. “N-no, I’m okay. But who are you? And how did you know my name?”

Arc sighs. “It’s complicated. At the moment, I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on around here. But to answer your first question, my name is Arc.”

“Platinum Valve. But I guess you already know about that.”

“What were you doing in the cemetery though?”

Platinum Valve’s ears droop. “I was… visiting my parents.”

Arc gasps. “Steel Hammer and Silver Hammer are dead?!”

“You knew my parents?!”

Arc nods. “I did, yes! They’re the ones whom passed on their titles to me!”

Platinum Valve eyes him suspiciously for a moment as Cherry calls out to Arc telepathically.

“What are you doing, Arc?!”

“Just trying to convince her that I’m on the level.”

“By lying to her?!”

“It’s the truth though. The Hammers really were the ones whom offered me their former positions.”

“In our world, yes!”

“It’d be too complicated to go into the alternate universe idea right now with her. Trust me on this one.”

Cherry sighs. “Alright.”

Platinum Valve looks him over. “What are you talking about? What titles?”

“The Hero of Light.”

“Where’s your crest then?”

Pulling aside his cloak, Arc points to the Crest of Light on his shoulder.

“Right here.”

“Can I have a closer look?”

“Sure.”

Leaning forward, Arc allows Platinum Valve to touch his crest. Looking it over for a few moments, she nods and sighs.

“It sure looks real, yes.”

Arc nods. “That’s because it is.”

“But my parents never found anypony to take their places before they died.”

Arc sighs. As he looks away. “It’s… a bit more complicated than that, yes.”

Platinum Valve looks out the window sadly. “So is life these days.”

Arc nods as he too looks outside. “About that. What the heck is going on out there? Guards attacking an unarmed filly. Empty towns. Where is everyone?”

Platinum Valve frowns. “That’s… complicated.”

“I figured that much. Look, if you don’t have the answers to my questions, do you think you could put me in contact with someone whom does?”

Platinum Valve looks away nervously. “I… can’t do that.”

“Because you don’t want to or don’t know how?”

“Sorry, but it’s a matter of security.”

“Look, all I want to do right now is to help put things back the way they were. But I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s going on here.”

Platinum Valve sighs. “Fine. The best I can do is to bring somepony to check you out if you’d like. It’s their call whether or not you’re allowed to proceed though.”

Arc tilts his head to one side, confused. “Procced?”

Platinum Valve nods. “If we trust you enough to tell you what’s up, I mean.”

Arc groans. “Fine. Where do we find this individual?”

“I can bring them here.”

She looks around a few moments before continuing.

“Uh… where are we though?”

“Fluttershy’s cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville.”

“Ah! Sorry. Didn’t recognize it in the dark.”

“That’s fine. But I don’t like the idea of you running around out there alone.”

“Believe me, I’ll be okay.”

“Those guards might have someone looking for them soon though!”

“Probably. Which is why I’m going to bring somepony here to look you over.”

“Why can’t I just come with you though?”

Platinum Valve rolls her eyes. “Again, for security reasons.”

She looks him in the eye before continuing.

“Look, I know that you want me to trust you. And I sorta do after what you did for me back there. But at the same time, you have to understand that I’ve never met you before and really can’t take chances on somepony unknown. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you want my trust you, have to be willing to give me your trust first.”

Arc sighs and shrugs. “Guess I don’t really have much of a choice here.”

“Glad we have an understanding then. Now then, I just need to use the bathroom before heading out. We’ll meet you here again in one hour.”

Arc nods. “Alright.”

Platinum Valve heads to the bathroom. “Good.”

As the door closes behind her, Cherry calls out to Arc telepathically.

“We can’t let her leave here alone, Arc!”

Arc nods as he pats his magic ring. “We won’t have to. When Platinum Valve leaves, I’ll just follow her at a distance in an effort to keep her safe.”

“But what if she’s just planning to go out the bathroom window?”

Arc chuckles as he sits down on the couch. “Not to worry there. Fluttershy’s bathroom window isn’t the kind that opens.”

Cherry giggles. “That means that she has to get past us to leave.”

“Right. And when she does, we’ll be…”

He is cut off as a strange light glows from under the bathroom door for just a moment. Quickly getting to his feet, Arc pushes the bathroom door open and steps inside. Looking around he sees that Platinum Valve has vanished. Frowning, he makes a more thorough investigation of the bathroom before returning to the living room. Making a quick walk around the outside of the cottage, Arc returns inside and sits down on the couch as he frowns. Cherry calls out to him.

“What the heck happened to her, Arc?”

“I felt a slight magical backwash when that light shone out from under the door.”

“So, you think she Blinked outside?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, I’m aware of how a nearby Blink should feel. And that wasn’t it.”

“Then what was it?”

“Something new entirely.”

“Think she’s come up with a new spell?”

Arc shrugs. “Maybe. After all, Platinum Valve’s a smart little filly.”

“That just leaves the matter of what to do now.”

“The only thing we can do, I guess.”

Cherry sounds hopeful. “What’s that?”

Arc leans back on the couch. “Wait for her to come back.”

“There’s nothing else we can do?! Maybe we should look around the town for her. Just in case.”

Arc shakes his head. “No, we can’t risk not being here when she gets back. After all, she’s our only lead at this point.”

Cherry gasps. “But she could get hurt!”

“Like she said, we need to be willing to trust her if this is going to work.”

Roughly an hour later there is a small knock at the door. A moment later it opens and Platinum Valve steps inside. Looking to the couch where Arc is waiting for her, she speaks.

“I, uh… I’m back.”

Arc stands. “Are you okay?”

Platinum Valve nods nervously. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Arc looks past the filly. “I thought you were going to bring someone with you though?”

“I, uh… I did.”

A split second later something crashes through a nearby window. Arc finds himself unceremoniously slammed to the floor. Feeling his assailant leap onto his back, Arc instinctively Blinks up to the ceiling. Silently falling onto his attacker, he grabs them around the neck and yells.

“Platinum Valve, run!”

Platinum Valve cries out. “Wait! Let her up!”

Arc looks down. “Her?!”

Standing up, he watches as the mare under him gets to her hooves. Nodding, she looks him over before speaking.

“Not too bad.”

Platinum Valve frowns. “What do you mean ‘not too bad’?! He had you pinned!”

“Believe me, I had the situation well under control.”

Arc raises an eyebrow as he looks to the hooded figure before him. “Um… is that you under there, Tempest?”

Throwing back her hood, Tempest glares at him.

“How do you know that name?!”

Arc groans as he realizes his mistake. “It’s… complicated.”

Platinum Valve looks to Tempest. “He knew my name as well too.”

Tempest frowns. “That is very suspicious.

Arc groans. “Look, I really need to know what’s going on around here. Where is everyone? Why are Ponyville and Dodge Junction deserted?”

Tempest narrows her eyes. “We could say the same of you.”

“Huh?”

Tempest points a hoof at him. “I’d also like to know about your origins. How things are literally falling down around us and you, the supposed Hero of Light, just now happens to show up.”

Platinum Valve looks to Arc and sighs. “She does raise a good point, you know.”

Arc sighs. “Look, I get where you’re coming from here. I really do. Things look bad and I’m kind of to blame for that. But the fact of the matter is that I’m here now. And I can’t do anything about any of this without information.”

Tempest sits down on her haunches and frowns. “And how do I know you’re really on our side?”

Platinum Valve looks to Tempest. “Some kind of a test would probably be in order.”

Arc rolls his eyes. “A test? Considering how bad things are at the moment I would have thought you would welcome any help you could get at this point.”

Tempest sneers. “Not when that so-called help hasn’t proven themselves to me yet.”

Arc sighs. “Fine. What do I have to do?”

Tempest gestures to the window. “First off, I’ll humor your curiosity with a bit of a light briefing. About a year ago, Canterlot more or less closed its doors to everypony. Those outside the city at the time were unable to enter while anypony inside was trapped.”

Arc chuckles. “You mean non-flying ponies were, right?”

Platinum Valve shakes her head. “Nope. They put up a magical barrier to maximize security and keep the city locked down.”

Tempest grunts. “That included communications as well. For all intents and purposes, they were completely cut off from the rest of the country.”

Arc raises an eyebrow skeptically. “How did the public take that?”

Platinum Valve shrugs. “Not too badly, actually.”

Tempest nods. “Everypony just thought there was some kind of super top secret meeting going on or some contagious disease within the city and just went about their business as usual for a short time.”

Platinum Valve bows her head. “But that was some time ago at this point.”

Tempest stomps a foot. “About nine months ago the sun suddenly stopped rising. That’s when things really started going downhill.”

Platinum Valve shudders. “Canterlot started sending out Royal Guards and Lunar Protectors to round up everypony they could find and transport them to some unknown location.”

Tempest grits her teeth. “But nopony whom was by them there ever returns or is heard from again.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “And you want me to go to Canterlot and find them?”

Tempest shakes her head. “Nothing so involved, no. To prove yourself to me all I want you to do is bring me a basket of apples from Sweet Apple Acres to the north of here.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

Tempest nods stoically. “Yes. Think you can handle that?”

Arc shrugs. “I don’t see why not. After all, Applejack is a very understanding mare.”

Platinum Valve sighs. “She’s not there though.”

Arc heads for the door. “So, I’ll just grab a basket of apples then and leave some money for them then.”

Tempest calls out after him. “It’s recommended that you scout out the farm first before approaching it.”

Platinum Valve nods fervently. “And try not to use magic over there. It’ll set off the alarm.”

Arc stops and turns around. “Alarm?”

Tempest chuckles. “Yes. Now then, if you manage to survive this bring the apples to Sugarcube Corner and wait there for contact.

Platinum Valve looks around nervously. “And make sure that you’re not followed there either.”

Arc shrugs. “Sounds simple enough.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “If that’s what you think than it is unlikely that we will meet again.”

Arc again turns and head for the door. “I’ll take your suggestions into consideration though.”

Platinum Valve shudders. “Be careful out there.”

Arc nods. “I will.”

Leaving the cottage, Arc makes a beeline for Sweet Apple Acres. Cherry calls out to him as he walks.

“We’re not taking the road?”

Arc shakes his head as he cloaks. “I get the feeling that this is not like the old Sweet Apple Acres we’re used to. We should sneak up on them from the hill to the east of the farm and scout it out like Tempest said.”

“Scouting it out?”

“If it’s anywhere near as bad as Tempest and Platinum Valve say it is then I’d rather go in quietly, do the job, and get out without anyone even knowing I was there. That and it’s likely that the roads will be either patrolled or watched by someone on stakeout.

“But the plains not so much, huh?”

“In theory, yes. So that’s why we’re doing it this way.”

Sometime later, Arc lays down on his belly and crawls his way the last bit up to the crest of a hill. Peeking over he looks out at the orchard below. A large number of Royal Guards and Lunar Defenders patrol the grounds around the house and barn as well as the orchards themselves. Frowning, he whispers.

“That sure is a lot of security just to look after apples.”

“Maybe there’s something else there to guard, Arc. Like in the barn, or something.”

“Can’t think of what that might be though. I mean… there’s much more secure locations than out here.”

“So, what’s you plan, Arc?”

Arc looks to the barn. “Any other time I would just walk in, announce myself, and tell them that I was going to take some apples.”

“Your status as the Hero of Light would certainly have let you do such a thing, of course. But judging by how those two guards in the cemetery treated you, here you’re technically no different than anypony else in terms of status.”

“And if that wasn’t hard enough, Platinum Valve told me I couldn’t use my magic.”

“I get the feeling that those watch towers are for more than just watching out for trouble.”

“Agreed. Those appear to be way more cables than are needed for powering the search lights.”

“Maybe some kind of magic sensor.”

“Must be localized though.”

“What makes you say that, Arc?”

“Because I’ve already used magic numerous times around town and no one’s come after me yet.”

“So you could use magic. Just not on the grounds of Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Yeah.”

“But you’ll still need a plan to get to the barn. How about just using a magic cloak to sneak in?”

Arc shakes his head. “I’m betting that such a thing won’t work on fooling the dampers. After all, my magic cloak has the word ‘magic’ right in the name.”

“The only other option would be for us to go in there fully visible. And that won’t be even remotely safe.”

“In that case let’s just see what we have to work with around here.”

Arc looks around for a few moments before his eyes settle on a massive rock nearby. Grinning, he nods to himself.

“That’ll do.”

Making his way over to the rock, Arc slowly begins pushing it over the crest of the hill. As gravity does its thing, the rock gains momentum and careens toward the orchard. Smashing into a tree on the outskirts, it knocks it over with a colossal crash. A number of guards run over to investigate as the search lights turn to convene on it. Grinning, Arc looks up at the moon and changes into his Crimson form. Turning into a mist, he makes his way up and over those whom are actively investigating the incident. Snaking under the barn door Arc rematerializes and looks around.

“Now then… just need to find some apples.”

“That might be harder than we thought though, Arc.”

“How so?”

“Look at the stack of baskets in the corner.”

Arc turns his head. “They’re empty.”

“Right. Apples aren’t in season right now, after all.

“But Applejack always seems to have some in the barn. At least as long as I can remember, that is.”

“Well, this version of her apparently doesn’t.”

Arc facepalms. “Great.”

Cherry sighs. “We should probably get out of here now then, Arc. After all, who’s to say that the guards won’t be running patrols through here at some point?”

“But I can’t leave without some apples!”

“There aren’t any to find though!”

Arc looks to a rack of crates nearby. “Maybe. Then again, maybe not.”

Making his way over to the crates, Arc peeks through a knothole. Grinning, he opens it and pulls out a large jar.

“Here we go!”

“But those aren’t apples, Arc!”

Arc nods as he closes the crate’s lid. “Yes, they are. Just in a slightly less… solid form.”

Shoving the jar into his ring, Arc quickly returns to his mist form as the barn doors open and several guards walk inside with their weapons at the ready. Taking the opportunity to make his way through the doorway, Arc floats high over the orchard back towards town. Rematerializing in front of Sugar Cube Corner, Arc walks inside and looks around. Seeing no one he sighs inwardly and calls out to Cherry.

“Guess I’m early.”

“Maybe Tempest figured that you’d need a lot more time to come up with a plan.”

Arc shrugs as he turns and leans against the counter to face the door. “Probably. But that still doesn’t explain why she and Platinum Valve…”

Arc’s thought is cut off as a rough blow from behind knocks him off his feet. Turning, he sees Tempest standing next to Platinum Valve behind the counter. Seething, she calls out angrily.

“You idiot!”

“What?!”

Platinum Valve sighs. “Sweet Apple Acres is now on high alert thanks to a rock that crashed into a tree a little while ago.”

Arc stands up. “You were there?”

Tempest shakes her head. “How stupid do you think we are?! That would have been far too risky!”

Platinum Valve holds up a device. “We watched it on this screen. It’s connected wirelessly to a hidden camera in one of the apple trees.”

Tempest grits her teeth. “Which just happened to be the one you knocked down!”

Arc puts his hands on the counter as he frowns. “Oh, come on! How was I supposed to know that?!”

Platinum Valve looks to Tempest as she puts the device on the counter. “He does raise a good point, you know.”

Tempest scoffs. “Well, that doesn’t change the fact that we now have no way of keeping tabs on the farm. To say nothing about the fact that they’ll probably find that camera when they start cleaning up the tree.”

Platinum Valve turns back to the device. “Looks like they just did.”

Holding it up, Arc and Tempest see a number of guards observing the camera and looking around. Turning the screen off, Platinum Valve puts it in her saddlebags before sighing and looking to the pair.

“In any case… I suppose what’s done is done. But we should see about how the mission went.”

Turning to Arc, Platinum Valve continues.

“Were you able to get the apples, sir?”

Arc shakes his head. “There weren’t any to be found, no.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “None?”

Platinum Valve shrugs. “That actually does make sense.”

Arc continues. “Because they’re out of season?”

Platinum Valve shakes her head. “More along the lines of because they’re so valuable.”

Tempest nods soberly. “With no sunlight, we can’t grow food. So what currently exists is all there is.”

Platinum Valve bows her head sadly. “What apples were left have probably been transferred to a secure location along with whatever else in there was edible.”

Arc smirks. “Not exactly.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“I was able to grab something to at least prove that I was there and tried my best.”

Reaching for his ring, he pulls out the jar. Setting it on the counter, he continues.

“Apple Jam.”

Platinum Valve gasps. “Was there any more in there?!”

Arc nods. “A number of crates, yes.”

Platinum Valve turns to Tempest excitedly. “We need to find a way to get them out of there!”

Tempest groans. “Believe me, I’d love to do that. At this point though it’s likely that the farm will be locked down while they start searching the town.”

Arc looks around. “We should probably get out of here then.”

Platinum Valve grimaces. “Where to though?”

Tempest frowns. “You and I are going back to base, Platinum Valve.”

Platinum Valve points a hoof at Arc. “What about him though?!”

Tempest scoffs as she walks around the counter. “He didn’t pass the test. I asked for apples and he didn’t provide them.”

Platinum Valve gasps. “But he couldn’t have! There weren’t any to take!”

Arc frowns. “I did bring apples.”

Tempest turns to him. “Huh?”

Arc taps the jar on the counter. “You asked me to bring you a basket of apples. But I wasn’t told what form those apples needed to be in.”

Platinum Valve giggles. “I think he’s got you.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “While that’s technically correct…”

The sound of hooves and armor clanking outside rings out. Platinum Valve frowns and looks to Tempest.

“We need to go!”

Tempest pulls something from her saddlebags. “Right!”

Pressing a button on it, Tempest disappears in a flash of light. Platinum Valve runs over to Arc and cries out.

“Pick me up! Hurry!”

Doing as he is told, Arc kneels down and wraps his arms around the filly. As she removes a similar looking device from her saddlebags, Arc turns and grabs the jar from the counter. Pressing the button on it, both she and Arc vanish together. A few moments later they reappear in a very large tent with a number of ponies pointing makeshift spears at them. A mare steps forward and frowns at Tempest.

“Are you completely nuts?!”

Tempest appears confused. “What are you…?”

Turning, she sees Platinum Valve hop down from Arc’s arms. Seething, she looks to the filly.

“Why the heck did you bring that thing here?!”

Platinum Valve stomps a hoof defiantly. “Because he passed the test!”

Tempest groans. “No, he…!”

Platinum Valve interrupts. “That and the guards would have found him if we’d left him behind!”

The mare appears confused. “Who is…?!”

A stallion sees the Crest of Light on Arc’s shoulder and points a hoof as he turns and cries out.

“Colonel Spitfire! Look there!”

Spitfire gasps. “The Crest of Light?!”

Platinum Valve turns to her. “He says that the previous Heroes of Light picked him to be their replacements before they died.”

Spitfire looks to Arc cooly. “Kinda late, aren’t you?”

“I… suppose I am.”

Tempest sneers. “At least you’re Honest about it.”

Spitfire frowns at Arc. “Where have you been?!”

“Well…”

Platinum Valve steps forward. “Colonel Spitfire, please remember that the Hero of Light doesn’t actually answer to anypony. If he wasn’t here before then I’m sure he has a good reason. But even if he doesn’t…”

Arc interrupts her. “Look, I’m really sorry that I couldn’t have been around up until this point. But I am here now. So… can I help?”

Spitfire looks to Arc silently as she thinks. Eventually, she nods evenly.

“Very well. But only on a probationary level. He’ll still need to prove himself to us first.”

Platinum Valve frowns. “Shouldn’t that be up to the general though?”

Tempest motions to Spitfire. “She left the colonel in charge of security though.”

Platinum Valve taps Tempest’s insignia. “You technically outrank her though.”

“True. But I trust her judgment.”

Arc nods as he looks to Spitfire. “Fine then. What do you want me to do to prove myself?”

Holding out the jar of apple jelly to Tempest, he continues.

“Again, I might add.”

Tempest frowns as she takes the jar. “That’s up to the colonel.”

Spitfire smirks. “He can spearhead our next operation.”

Platinum Valve raises an eyebrow. “A mission?”

Tempest’s eyes grow wide as she looks to Spitfire. “You don’t mean…?!”

Spitfire nods. “Yes, we were just about to head out.”

Platinum Valve grimaces. “That might not be a good idea right now, colonel.”

Tempest gestures to Arc. “Yeah. This idiot’s antics put Apple Base on high alert.”

Spitfire facehoofs. “Seriously?”

Arc turns to Tempest. “In my defense, I did do what you wanted me to. I snuck into the barn and got some ‘apples’ without technically using magic while on the property. That and they never saw me enter or leave.”

Platinum Valve nods. “He did, yes. Somehow. But I was confused when Tempest asked him to break in there with a mission coming up.”

Tempest shrugs. “I figured he’d get caught and could be our diversion for the upcoming attack.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “You mean…?”

“We were watching via the hidden camera. When you were inevitable discovered and captured, I was planning to come back here to lead our forces onto the property from the other side of wherever you were.”

Spitfire looks to Tempest. “Could we still attack from a different direction?”

Tempest shakes her head. “Nah. High alert is high alert.”

Platinum Valve groans. “And it’s likely due to that scuffle that reinforcements have been dispatched from Canterlot.

Spitfire looks to a nearby clock. “Assuming that’s true, we still have an hour or so before they get to Apple Base.”

Tempest stomps a hoof angrily. “True. But if we can’t get out before they arrive, we’ll be sitting ducks.”

Platinum Valve shrugs. “Then we should call it off.”

Arc raises a gauntlet. “Excuse me?”

Spitfire groans. “What is it?”

“I know that I’m the new guy here, but can I make a suggestion?”

Spitfire frowns. “Unless you have a surefire plan to make this work…”

Arc interrupts her. “That I do.”

Tempest shrugs. “Let’s hear it then.”

“It’s very simply actually. We could just use the plan that I did to get in originally.”

Platinum Valve raises an eyebrow. “Roll a rock down a hill into a tree?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, no. My idea is to create some kind of a diversion on the other side of the property to draw the guards toward it. Meanwhile, the real attack force could storm the barn and take what they needed from it.”

Spitfire chuckles. “And poor fool is going to be making the a fore mentioned diversion? You?”

“Sure, I can do that.”

Platinum Valve gasps. “What?! But… but that would be a suicide mission!”

Tempest scoffs. “Not really.”

Spitfire turns to Tempest, confused. “Oh?”

Tempest gestures with a hoof to Arc. “If this creature really is the Hero of Light as he claims, then the guards shouldn’t be able to lay a hoof on him.”

Arc nods. “Right. And since this isn’t cloak and dagger anymore, I’ll be able to use my magic as well if need be.

Platinum Valve appears confused. “You can use magic?”

Tempest chuckles. “How well?”

Arc shrugs. “Let’s just say that I’m above average.”

Tempest turns to Spitfire. “It’s your call, colonel.”

Platinum Valve shakes her head vehemently. “We shouldn’t let him do it! This is just too dangerous!”

Arc shrugs. “Only to me. The rest of the group will be exposed to minimal risk due to only a small number of enemy troops being left behind.”

Spitfire sighs. “Very well. We’ll do it.”

Turning to her forces, she continues.

“As planned, we’ll arrive just outside the town to the west of the farm. From there we’ll watch and wait for the secondary party of one to make their move on the orchard from the east.”

A stallion raises a hoof. “But how will we know when to attack, Colonel Spitfire?”

“That depends on how well a diversion works out.”

Tempest smirks. “The harder he fights the more troops will have to be sent to try and stop him.”

Platinum Valve grimaces. “How will he get out though?!”

Tempest turns to Spitfire. “Platinum Valve brings up a good point, colonel. After all, we can’t yet trust him with one of our recall beads.”

“Very true.”

Arc chuckles. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

Tempest taps a map of Ponyville lying on a nearby table. “Should you survive this, I could pick you up from Sugar Cube Corner.”

Platinum Valve runs over to Tempest. “But he’ll be too tired to have to go that far! That and they’ll certainly be chasing him by that point!”

Spitfire nods soberly. “How about this then? When our part of the operation is done, I’ll fly over to the east side of the property and get him out myself.”

Arc frowns. “Alone?”

“Yes.”

Tempest turns to Spitfire. “I know you’re the best flyer here. But even you have your limits.”

“They’ll never be able to catch me though. And if all goes well, I won’t have to waste energy flying before then.”

Arc nods. “Sounds like a plan. I’d just like to add one thing though.”

“What is it?”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “If something goes wrong and you can’t get to me, just make sure to evac the others back to safety.”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow. “What about you then?”

“I’ll… think of something. And if the bakery is compromised, we can meet at Fluttershy’s cottage instead.”

Tempest looks to Spitfire. “Sounds like we have ourselves a real plan then.”

“Agreed. Tempest, you will take the Hero of Light to a prime position on the east side. Figure out the details of the plan from that side before making your way back to our group on the west side.”

“I could help him with the diversion though.”

Spitfire folds her hooves over her chest. “Could, but won’t. I can’t risk somepony with your skills you on a mere diversion.”

Arc shrugs. “It’s alright. I’ll be okay.”

Tempest scoffs. “Fine.”

Turning to Arc, she continues.

“Ready?”

Arc nods. “Lead the way.”

Sighing, Tempest turns and walks over to a strange looking pad behind them. As Arc follows her onto it, Spitfire calls out.

“A moment.”

Looking to Arc, she continues.

“Succeed or not, I just wanted to say that I’m very impressed by your willingness to do this.”

Arc nods. “I’m just doing what I can to help.”

“See you soon enough.”

Tempest looks to a nearby stallion and nods. He manipulates the control panel in front of him deftly. As he does so the pad begins to glow slightly before the pair are teleported to Sugar Cube Corner. Arriving, Tempest heads toward the door.

“Let’s go.”

Arc nods. “Right behind you.”

Leaving the building silently, they make their way carefully to the east side of the orchards. Tempest climbs a tree, pulls a pair of binoculars from her saddlebags, and scans the area as she speaks.

“Looks like the other group is in position.”

“Good.”

Tempest frowns. “And there appear to be a lot less guards than I thought there’d be.”

“You think they’re still in Ponyville looking for us?”

Tempest shrugs as she puts away the binoculars and jumps down. “No way to know for sure at this point. But it’s an even money bet, yes. However, there are still a few dozen guards that I could see still on the grounds. And when you start your diversion they’ll probably hear it and come running.

Arc nods as he clenches a fist. “A calculated risk on my part.”

Tempest shakes her head. “Yeah, well… I’d just like to take a moment to say that you officially are nuts.”

Arc smirks. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You would. At least if anything I’ve read about past Heroes of Light are any indication.”

“Oh really?”

Tempest nods. “Yeah.”

“And what exactly have you heard?”

“That they’re experts at making the impossible possible.”

“I’ve done that a few times, yes.”

“Wouldn’t mind hearing about that later then.”

“Sure. When we get back, that is.”

Tempest frowns. “You mean ‘if’ right?”

Arc looks out at the apple trees. “I said what I said.”

“Fine. What about your diversion?”

Arc chuckles. “You just leave that to me. I’ll get them all over here.”

Tempest sighs. “Fine. I need to meet up with the other group. So be sure to give me a ten minute head start before you get to… whatever it is that you’re going to do.”

“Alright.”

Tempest leaves as Arc sits down at the foot of a tree. Cherry calls out to him telepathically.

“Arc, what are you planning to do?!”

“Use magnetism.”

Cherry sounds confused. “Um… how?”

“You’ll see.”

Pulling a magic robe from his ring, Arc quickly recalls his armor and puts it on. Cherry gasps.

“Arc, you need protection!”

Arc shakes his head. “At the moment I need to stay silent though. Armor just kinda clanks around.”

After waiting for the specified amount of time, Arc calls out to Cherry.

“It’s time.”

“Are you sure this is what you want to do though, Arc?”

Arc shakes his head. “Not exactly. But it needs to be done.”

Taking a deep breath, he cloaks. Spotting a larger than average tree off to one side of the orchard, Arc walks over to it. Climbing up into the branches, he steadies himself before looking towards the guards by the farm buildings and muttering to himself.

“Let’s see if they’re able to pick up my magic cloak with their sensors.”

A few moments later a guard runs out of the farmhouse with a strange looking device. He calls for a few guards to come with him. Heading into the orchard they come to the spot where Arc is hiding and look around. Seeing nothing, the stallion motions for them to fan out. Arc waits for them to turn away from one another before hopping down to the ground. Picking a target, Arc looks to them and matches their steps. As they pass close by a tree, he slams their head into the trunk with a Telekinesis Spell. The others hear it and start running toward the commotion. Picking out two more guards, he repeats the process. Seeing three stallions on the ground, the one with the device speaks hastily into a radio. Cherry calls out telepathically.

“Looks like he’s calling for reinforcements!”

Arc grins. “Just like I knew he would.”

“But that means that there will be even more guards looking for you, Arc!”

“All according to plan, Cherry.”

As the western group waits in their position, they see a number of guards hurry out of the farmhouse and into the orchards. Spitfire smirks as she turns to Tempest and whispers.

“They’re moving. That thing out there is actually doing it.”

Tempest frowns. “I’ll congratulate what’s left of him when they track him down.”

Spitfire grimaces. “Remember, it was his idea though. And if he keeps it up, there won’t be hardly anypony here at the farm.”

A stallion points a hoof to the road. “They’re recalling the guards from town now!”

Tempest chuckles. “That means the farmhouse must be empty now.”

Spitfire nods and crouches down. “Right. As soon as they pass by us, we’re moving in.”

As the stallions run onto the property and past the farm buildings, Spitfire motions silently with a hoof. Tempest speaks into a radio. A few moments later the watchtower lights turn away from the barn to other areas of ground. Tempest looks to Spitfire and grins.

“My operatives have taken the towers. The way to the barn should be clear.”

Spitfire points. “Everypony, move out!”

They make a dash for the barn. Entering, Tempest points at the racks of apple products.

“Grab everything! We need to start transporting this stuff out of here as long as we can!”

A stallion with a strange looking device makes his way over to the racks. Opening a portal, he stabilizes it and holds it open as teams of two start shuttling crates through. Meanwhile, Arc continues to use telekinesis to knock out guards. Several times he Blinks to other locations to further hamper their efforts to locate him. However, he soon hears the sound of wings flapping overhead. Looking up, Arc spies a large number of pegasi making their way toward the orchards at high speed. Grimacing, he calls out to Cherry telepathically.

“Great. Now the Wonderbolts are here.”

“On the upside, they still won’t be able to see you though.”

Arc frowns. “I got a bad feeling that they can.”

The Wonderbolts press buttons on their goggles and look around. A few moments later they fly straight for Arc. Shrugging, he hops down and decloaks. Pulling off the cloak and putting it back into his ring he calls forth his armor and turns to his assailants as they surround him.

“I’m the Hero of Light! Stand down!”

The soldiers continue advancing as Cherry calls out to him.

“It doesn’t look like they’re going to be listening to you, Arc!”

Arc sighs. “Yeah, I didn’t actually think they would. Had to try though.”

“Don’t hurt them though!”

Arc takes up a battle-ready position as he speaks. “That may not be an option at the moment.”

“Here they come!”

The stallions lunge forward. Making a sweeping motion with his arm Arc knocks them back with a Telekinesis Spell. Drawing the Spear of Righteousness from his ring Arc points it at them menacingly as he calls out loudly.

“I will not say this again! Stand down, all of you!”

As they again advance, Arc shakes his head and sighs.

“Very well.”

As Spitfire and her group removes the crates of food from the barn, Tempest watches from the window. Smirking, she whispers to Spitfire as the mare approaches.

“Sounds like our diversion is really earning his pay out there.”

Spitfire grimaces. “Most likely. But those whom are standing against him…”

Tempest cuts her off. “They’ve made their choice. So, we have to make ours.”

Spitfire nods soberly. “Yes, I suppose that’s true. However, it doesn’t make their deaths any easier.”

A short time later the last crate is sent through. Spitfire heads for the door as she turns to Tempest.

“Get back to base. I’ll see about getting our decoy out of there.”

Tempest nods as she pulls a bead from her saddlebags. “Good luck with that. Just be sure to look before you leap though.”

Spitfire nods. “I will.”

“And if you can’t get to him, there’s no shame in aborting the extraction and getting out of there yourself.”

Leaving the barn, Spitfire whistles loudly. Those whom had taken the watch towers earlier vanish as they use their beads. Spitfire takes flight and makes her way over to the eastern side of the property. As she does so however, she sees a fist coming right at her. Gliding masterfully around it, she does a one-eighty and lands on her hooves to face Arc.

“What were you…?!”

Arc groans. “Sorry. I thought you were one that I missed.”

Spitfire appears confused. “Missed?”

Arc gestures to the stallions lying all around on the ground. “Yeah.”

Spitfire’s eyes grow wide as she sees innumerable guards and Wonderbolts lying on the ground moaning. Turning to him, she frowns.

“Did you have to be so hard on them?!”

Arc shrugs. “They just have broken legs and wings from what I can tell. Everyone here should pull through when their reinforcements arrive.”

Spitfire pulls out a bead and sighs. “In any case, let’s not be here when they do. Hold still.”

Making her way around behind Arc, Spitfire jumps onto his back and activates her bead. A split second later she and Arc find themselves back in the tent they started in. Looking around, they see stallions unpacking the crates and loading the supplies into small wagons which are being pulled through the tent flaps. Hopping off of Arc, Spitfire calls out loudly.

“Take careful inventory of what we have before remitting these supplies to the depot! And be mindful of the jars! Every one of them counts! Platinum Valve!

Platinum Valve looks over. “Yes?!”

“See to it that the first to be fed are the very young and very old. Next should be anypony wounded. Then everypony else.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Spitfire smiles at the foal. “Did the foals like the jam?”

Platinum Valve grins. “That they did. We put it on some stale bread to soften it and make everything about it a bit more palatable.”

“Good. There’s plenty more where that came from now though.”

Turning to Tempest, Spitfire continues talking as she gestures to Arc.

“Well, it appears you were right about this one.”

Tempest shrugs. “I’m seldom wrong about other’s abilities.”

Arc appears hopeful. “So… does that mean I’m in?”

Spitfire taps her chin with a hoof. “I don’t know. After all, it’s pretty convenient that you showed up just now.”

“How so?”

Tempest shrugs. “We were about to hit Apple Base when you came anyways. Lack of food won’t help our rebellion continue onward.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Rebellion?”

Spitfire nods soberly. “Yes.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Against Canterlot?”

Spitfire frowns. “Something like that. Which is another reason why I’m a bit hesitant to just let you into our inner circle. Much less our base of operations.”

Tempest narrows her eyes. “You could still be working with the princesses, after all.”

Spitfire nods. “Yes. We don’t yet know whose side you’re on.”

“Equestria’s.”

Spitfire appears confused. “Come again?”

“You wanted to know whose side I was on. I was just answering your question.”

Tempest looks to Spitfire. “In any case, we should probably let the general make the final call on what to do in this matter though.”

“Agreed.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Can I talk to them then about it directly then? After all, I still haven’t actually agreed to help with your… rebellion.”

Tempest sighs. “Guess we’d better.”

Spitfire looks to a stallion. “Get the general.”

Nodding, they quickly leave the tent to carry out the colonel’s orders. Returning a few minutes later, the stallion points a hoof over to Spitfire as they and Tempest continue talking to Arc. The general walks over to them and clears their throat loudly to get the group’s attention. However, as Arc turns to see them his eyes grow wide as he gasps inwardly.