The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

The general walks over to them. Spitfire turns and gestures with a hoof to the uniformed pony as she speaks.

“This is the leader of the rebel forces, General Cherry Jubilee.”

Cherry rolls her eyes as turns to Arc. “Just call me ‘Cherry’ though. I’m not much for fancy titles.”

She looks Arc up and down as she continues.

“After all, I don’t actually have any experience leading anypony.”

Spitfire shrugs. “You’re in charge of this camp though. That makes you a general.”

Tempest nods. “Pretty much, yeah. Well, that and the fact that you have the respect of everypony here. Including me.”

Cherry spies his Crest of Light. “So Equestria does still have a protector. Mister…”

Tempest cuts her off. “The Hero of Light’s identity is supposed to remain a secret though, ma’am!”

Spitfire folds her hooves over her chest. “Yes, it’s a matter of national security!”

Arc shakes his head. “Normally I suppose it is, yes. However, I don’t have any problem with others knowing whom I am.”

Removing his helmet, he continues.

“My name is ‘Arc’. I’m a human whom accidently came to this land quite some time ago under… shall we say, extreme circumstances.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “And the princesses just decided to make you the Hero of Light?”

Arc shrugs. “There was a lot that happened before things got to that point, of course. But you’re probably better off not hearing about all of that. Top secret matters, and whatnot.”

Spitfire narrows her eyes. “But how does somepony from another country even get to the point of being entrusted with such power?!”

Arc sighs. “It’s kinda complicated. So, I’ll give you the short version.”

Taking a deep breath, he continues.

“You see, I did my best to do right here in Equestria when I arrived. To try and overcome the negative stereotypes surrounding my race. However, at one point I was accused of brutally murdering a helpless mare.”

Tempest frowns. “And the verdict of your trial?”

“While I never actually got one, it did look like an open and shut case from the start. I was found ‘guilty’ by the party that found me and summarily punished for the crime with a one-way trip to Tartarus.”

Spitfire frowns. “Then how’d you get out?!”

“This isn’t exactly common knowledge, but the princesses have contingency plans to enter Tartarus in such events. None of which I can tell you the specifics about though. In any case, the mare whom they thought was dead recovered and told some friends of mine what really happened. How I hadn’t been trying to kill her, but was assisting in delivering her foal. There was a snowstorm outside and I couldn’t get her to the hospital.

Cherry nods soberly. “That led to you being covered in blood along with her I would imagine.”

Arc nods. “You got it. So when we were discovered I was immediately sent off to Tartarus.”

Tempest smirks. “And when your innocence was discovered, they got you out and gave you a full pardon?”

“Something like that. As a bit of an additional apology, Princess Cadance gave me a blank royal decree. I was allowed to write whatever I wanted as penance for their mistake.”

Removing the scroll from his magic ring, Arc continues.

“And I asked for citizenship here in Equestria.”

Spitfire holds out a hoof. “May I see that document please?”

“Of course.”

Holding the scroll out to her, Arc allows Spitfire to read it over. Nodding, she rolls it back up and returns it to Arc as she speaks.

“It certainly appears authentic.”

Tempest turns to the colonel. “What about the signature?”

“Identical to the ones I’ve seen in the past.”

Cherry puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “So how exactly does one make the jump from citizen to Hero of Light?”

“The previous Heroes of Light were impressed by my actions and offered me their former job. They gave me their sigils and told me the proper words to say to Princess Luna when I turned the sigils over to them.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “And she trusted you… just like that?!”

Arc shakes his head. “No. In truth, she actually sent spies to watch my actions for a while after that in order to make sure I was really on the level. But I was eventually able to gain her trust. The rest of the story needs to stay a secret though for national security reasons.”

Cherry nods. “Very well. And I do believe that we could use the help of somepony so… uh… talented.”

Spitfire scoffs. “Late as they may be, yes.”

Arc grimaces. “Yeah, about that. I um… I’m sorry for just showing up now out of the blue.”

Tempest shrugs. “Or in this case, out of the black.”

Spitfire sighs. “Sun’s been down for what feels like forever.”

She turns and calls out.

“You got numbers yet, Platinum Valve?!”

The filly hurries over to the group with a clipboard.

“That I do. Have a look.”

Giving the clipboard to Cherry, the young mare looks it over for a short time before nodding approvingly.

“Good work on that raid. All of you”

Spitfire gestures with a hoof. “You can thank our Hero of Light for his role then.”

Cherry looks to Arc as she gives the clipboard back to Platinum Valve. “Well, considering this list of supplies liberated, I would say you did very well then.”

Platinum Valve nods as she holds the clipboard to her chest. “I’ll see to it that everything is properly stored away in the supply depot, general.”

“Very good. Carry on.”

The filly walks away and starts directing the stallions on which crates to move before following them out of the tent. Cherry turns her attention back to Arc.

“Tell me, what was your role in this raid, sir?”

“I made a diversion on the opposite side of the property.”

Tempest smirks. “He kept the guards busy while we took out the watch tower guards and got to the barn.”

Cherry appears surprised. “Alone? Without other aid?”

Spitfire shrugs. “When I arrived to extract him, he’d already delt with the guards AND Wonderbolt reinforcements.”

Cherry turns back to Arc. “Are you injured?!”

Arc shakes his head. “No, I’m fine.”

Spitfire grimaces. “Those whom crossed him aren’t though.”

Arc chuckles. “They’ll all pull through though.”

Tempest narrows her eyes. “Explain.”

“I was careful to only do enough damage to stop them from continuing to fight. Not outright kill them. The guards needed a couple broken legs or some smashed ribs. And the Wonderbolts just required some broken wings to stay down.”

Cherry raises an eyebrow. “I am grateful that you showed such restraint. But attacking the Hero of Light is a crime punishable by death. Why would you feel the need to go so easy on them?”

“Because I wasn’t sure if they were the bad guys or not.”

Folding his arms over his chest, Arc continues.

“After all, I still don’t really know who’s in the wrong here.”

Tempest glares at him. “Are you siding with Canterlot?!”

“Like I said before, I’m on Equestria’s side. That means whomever is right is whom I’ll fight for.”

Spitfire draws her weapon as she looks to Cherry. “We might want to get rid of him then.”

Arc shakes his head as he reaches for his ring. “You would lose.”

Cherry motions for the colonel to lower her weapon. “Yes, we have no interest in fighting the Hero of Light.”

Tempest frowns. “We’re already short on help as it is.”

Arc pulls back from his ring. “Thank you. I’m not too keen on fighting anyone here either. At least until I have the full picture.”

Spitfire keeps a hoof on her blade. “So you might at some point then?”

Arc shrugs. “It depends on what’s needed to help the citizens of Equestria return to their daily lives.”

Spitfire looks to Cherry. “Not sure if telling him our side of things is in our best interests then.”

Cherry sighs. “The only other option would be for him to attempt to enter Canterlot.”

Tempest scoffs. “Assuming he actually got in, I don’t think they’d give him an honest answer anyways.”

Arc nods. “Right. So I’ll hear you out if I can.”

Cherry steps back. “Very well.”

She gestures with a wave of her hoof before continuing.

“This is our command center. It’s where we coordinate our missions against various targets.”

Spitfire nods. “At the moment that just involves supply runs and rescue operations though.”

Tempest shrugs. “We’re just trying to get by right now.”

Cherry bows her head. “Yes. It’s been a rather… stressful time for all of us here.”

Arc looks around. “But what exactly happened that brought you here? I mean… Tempest was saying that Canterlot has closed its borders and the moon never lowers these days. But the part that really got to me was hearing about them rounding up other ponies.”

Cherry nods soberly. “We still don’t know what happens to them or where they go. However, the fact that they’re never seen again leads me to believe that foul play is involved.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “It does make sense. Have there been any kind of transmissions sent out from Canterlot? An explanation of any kind?”

Spitfire shakes her head. “Nothing.”

Tempest stomps the ground. “Their actions speak louder than words though!”

Cherry takes a few steps over to a machine and puts her front hooves on it. “Agreed. So when Tempest and Spitfire came to Dodge Junction, I called together the citizens and we talked it over. Nearly everypony decided to leave and come here to hide out.”

Spitfire puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “All except a couple of mares, if I recall.”

Arc grimaces. “Waitresses at the saloon?”

Cherry appears hopeful. “Have you seen them?! Are they doing alright?!”

Arc shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but they were dead when I found them in the back room of the saloon.”

Cherry gasps. “What?! But… but how?!”

Tempest instinctively puts her hoof on her weapon. “Were there signs of a struggle?!”

“No, they were lying together behind some crates on makeshift beds. One of their order pads had been used as a diary of sorts though.”

Spitfire sighs. “Did it give any hint of what killed them?”

Arc nods. “One of them got sick and apparently passed whatever they had onto the second mare. They said it was winter when this happened.”

Cherry bows her head. “No heat, improperly cooked food, and a lack of hygiene probably did it to them.”

Tempest walks over to a map on a table. “While this probably isn’t the best time to mention such a thing, general, I do have to point out that we did leave the storeroom behind the saloon full for them. Given this set of rather unfortunate circumstances, it may be prudent to go back there and take what we can salvage for everypony here.”

Spitfire sighs. “And to lay them to rest properly.”

Arc raises a hand. “I already did the second part.”

Cherry appears confused. “Oh?”

“The alley next to the saloon. I buried them side by side there with their uniforms tied to sticks as a marker. While I know it isn’t much, I couldn’t just leave they lying there on the floor.”

Cherry smiles sadly at him. “Thank you for doing that, sir. It’s appreciated.

Spitfire looks to Arc. “And the supplies there? Could they still be of use?”

“I didn’t exactly go rummaging through a bunch of crates, but it did appear that pretty much everything there was still in one piece.”

Tempest taps the map before her. “Then we should head over there and gather them up!”

Cherry motions to the others as she speaks. “Agreed. Spitfire, take Tempest and scout out the town. See if there’s any signs of Canterlot’s guards being near or in Dodge Junction.”

Arc shrugs. “I was just there yesterday and didn’t see a soul.”

Tempest turns and heads for a cabinet. “We’ll make that determination ourselves. Let’s go, colonel.”

Spitfire hitches up her armor again. “Right with you.”

Arc steps forward. “Would you like me to come along?”

Tempest shakes her head. “We got this.”

Spitfire grins as she checks her weapons. “Thanks, but Tempest and I work well together.”

Cherry nods. “That you do.”

She turns to Arc before continuing.

“They’ll be fine over there. But I should probably bring you up to speed on how we do things over here. First let’s watch these two leave.”

Tempest and Spitfire step onto a large pad. Turning to a technician nearby, Spitfire points a hoof to a nearby map.

“Dodge Junction. Northern outskirts.”

Nodding, the stallion presses a few buttons. The whine of machinery coming to life rings out as the pad begins to glow. In a burst of energy, the two mares disappear from sight as the device begins to power down. Cherry gestures to the machine as she explains.

“This is a magic teleporter. We can use it to send ponies anywhere in Equestria.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Very interesting. But how do they get back?”

Picking up a small bead off of a nearby counter, Cherry nods to it as she speaks.

“This is a recall bead. An agent in the field can use it to reappear on our return pad over there. Much like you did to come here I would imagine.”

Arc nods. “Yeah. The first time I piggybacked with Platinum Valve.”

Cherry holds out the bead to him. “Why don’t you keep this one?”

Arc accepts the bead. “Thank you. But I don’t know if I’ll actually need it, as I can do something similar with my gauntlet.”

Cherry looks to his armor. “Oh? Do tell.”

Arc holds out his gauntlet. “I can use this to create a sigil, like so.”

Kneeling down, Arc demonstrates by placing a sigil on the ground. Taking a few steps to one side, he places a second sigil before continuing.

“Then I can step onto one and teleport to the other.”

Powering up the sigil, Arc teleports to the other one. Stepping off, he taps his gauntlet.

“Or, if I’m not near a sigil, I can open a portal that will link me to one.

Opening a portal, Arc steps through and reappears on one of the sigils. Cherry nods approvingly.

“That’s very impressive! But I’m guessing the science behind it is a bit of a state secret.”

Arc shrugs as he removes one of the sigils. “Not exactly. This is made possible by magical enchantments on my gauntlet. Something that’s pretty much the equivalent of a magical antique in this day and age.”

He looks to the teleporting device for a few moments before continuing.

“But this thing looks cutting edge.”

Cherry nods. “It was actually built by…”

She is cut off as Tempest and Spitfire suddenly materialize on the return pad. Hurrying over to Cherry, Spitfire is the first to speak.

“We’ve got trouble!”

Tempest grits her teeth. “The town is overrun with soldiers!”

Cherry raises an eyebrow. “But what would Canterlot’s troops be doing way out there?”

Spitfire shakes her head. “No, not Canterlot’s Royal Guards! Griffon soldiers!”

Arc frowns. “What are they doing here?!”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “Uh… well, for starters, we’re at war with them.”

Spitfire shakes her head. “Not officially we aren’t. But then again, considering just how badly things are going in their country, they’re probably trying to get resources any way they can.”

Arc turns to Tempest. “I don’t understand. What’s going on over there?”

Tempest groans. “Have you been living under a rock, or something?!”

“Kinda have apparently.”

Cherry sighs. “I’ll give you the short version then. The Griffon Kingdom and Abyssinia have been locked in a bloody war for well over a year now. They’ve been going at it so hard that both sides have pretty much run out of resources.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “So they decided to travel across the ocean to try and steal ours?”

Spitfire shrugs. “It does make sense from a tactical point of view. Their only other option at this point would be to raid Abyssinia for resources, which they likely also don’t have, while attacking a force that’s already on the defensive.”

Tempest nods as she checks her weapons. “But Dodge Junction is pretty remote and difficult to reinforce.”

Cherry looks to Tempest and Spitfire. “Just luck of the draw that you two found out they were there.”

Arc cracks his knuckles. “Well now, we can’t just let them steal from the Equestrian public. I’ll go over there and stop them.”

Spitfire looks to Cherry. “It’ll take probably every fighter we have to turn them back though.”

Tempest grunts. “And that’s with careful planning along with guerrilla tactics.”

Cherry sighs. “But that will take time to organize. It’s not likely they’ll stick around that long though.”

Arc clenches a fist. “Which is why I’m willing to take care of this.”

Cherry turns to him. “That won’t help with the planning and deploying aspect of this operation though.”

“No, no. When I said I’d take care of it, I meant just me.”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”

Tempest appears skeptical. “You… alone?”

Arc nods. “Exactly. I can move quickly, make decisions independently, and won’t be risking any of your assets in the process.”

Cherry shakes her head. “I can’t in good conscience let you do that though. You’d be throwing your life away needlessly.”

Spitfire groans as she turns away. “While supplies are certainly very important right now, we can’t be taking such extreme risks to get them.”

Tempest smirks. “Right. But I do like your style. Care for some company out there?”

Cherry facehoofs. “You too, Tempest?!”

Arc nods. “Sure. However, only as an observer.”

Tempest frowns. “A what now?”

“Someone to watch me work and report back on how things go.”

Tempest scoffs. “That’s not happening. I’ve proven that I can do a lot more than just sit around sightseeing, after all.”

Arc shrugs. “Fine then.”

Spitfire rolls her eyes. “If you want to go commit suicide, be our guest.”

Arc walks toward the pad. “Good. Send me somewhere outside the town limits where I can see what I’m going to be up against ahead of time.”

Tempest falls into step behind him. “Our original landing point was pretty good.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go.”

Taking their places on the pad, Arc nods to the stallion. Pressing a few buttons, the pair vanish from sight and reappear on one side of a sand dune. Tempest motions for Arc to follow her as she drops to her belly and begins crawling up the dune. Reaching the top together, she points to a large airship parked near the train station.

“Looks like they’re starting with the commercial storage warehouses near the station.”

Arc turns to Tempest. “Is there a lot of stuff in there?”

Tempest shakes her head. “Nah, we took out pretty much anything that would be useful to our cause when abandoning Dodge Junction.”

Arc frowns. “Seeing that there isn’t anything for them in there, they’ll head deeper into town though.”

Tempest nods soberly. “Eventually finding the goods still stored in the saloon’s back room I would imagine.”

Arc looks out over the town again. “Do you have some binoculars?”

“Sure. One sec.”

Reaching into her pouch, Tempest pulls out a small pair of binoculars. Arc takes them and scans the scene before them. Smirking, he calls out.

“Good news. They’re splitting up.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “That means they’ll be able to cover more ground faster.”

Arc nods as he hands back the binoculars. “And be easier to take out covertly.”

Tempest looks Arc up and down. “You don’t look very stealthy to me.”

“I mean for you.”

“Me?!”

Arc appears surprised. “Aren’t you the Special Agent here?”

“Yes, but…”

Arc interrupts her. “So you’re saying that you can’t do it?”

“Of course I can! But it just takes one of them to call in an alarm to their commanding officer and I’ll be overrun!”

“You just leave that to me. Take out as many groups as you can as quietly as you can while I keep the ship busy.”

“Ship? What about the commanding officer?”

Arc gestures to the griffon’s ship. “I’m guessing that would be them standing on the deck.”

Tempest looks through her binoculars. “Probably, yes. Or at the very least they’re the one leading the ground forces.”

“I’ll just go over there and have a talk with them then. They, along with the crew aboard, will be so interested in me that they won’t have time to worry about their forces in town.”

He looks the ship over for a few more moments before turning to Tempest and continuing.

“I’m guessing the griffon ships don’t have those magic detector thingamabobs though.”

Tempest shakes her head. “No, they don’t. And it’s not likely that Canterlot has anything like that way out here either.”

Arc smirks. “Perfect. That gives me more options on how to do this thing.”

“There are a lot of assumptions in what you’re planning though.”

“Yes, well… if things go wrong, just get yourself out of here and back to base. I’ll be fine on my own for a while.”

Tempest shrugs. “Fine. It’s your funeral.”

They part ways. Tempest heads into town under the cover of darkness as Arc makes his way toward the griffon airship. Looking around for a gangplank, he shrugs and casts a Telekinesis Spell to give himself a boost. Grabbing the guardrail, he hefts himself over it to land loudly on the steel deck. The griffon in charge whirls around to see what all the noise is about. Spotting Arc, they look him over for a few moments before speaking.

“Uh… what the heck are you supposed to be?”

Arc chuckles. “No one special.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Then how about I ask you one then.”

“Huh?”

Arc points a finger at them. “Who are you?”

“General Gilda of the Griffon Kingdom.”

“My name is Arc. So… what brings you here?”

Gilda scoffs. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m looking for something.”

“Are you now?”

“Yes. But I really don’t have time to waste talking to whatever it is that you are.”

Arc shrugs. “Aw… don’t like talking to non-griffons?”

“It’s not that. I’m just extremely busy over here. That and I’m still not even sure what it is that you are. Certainly not a pony from your stance though.”

“Yeah, I’m a pretty rare specimen around here.”

Gilda appears confused. “So what exactly are you? Definitely not an equine from where I stand.”

Arc does a small twirl to show his form off. “Just a different creature. That’s all.”

“Curious too.”

“Yup.”

Gilda puts a talon on a device strapped to her hip. “Do what you want. Just don’t cause me any trouble.”

She removes the device and presses a switch on it. Opening her beak to talk, the device suddenly slips and bounces across the deck before falling to the ground below. Looking over the guard rail, Gilda groans as she sees the device in a number of pieces. Arc joins her and looks down.

“Looks like you dropped your little toy box.”

Gilda grunts. “Great! Those things are expensive and in short supply too!”

Turning, Gilda makes a few steps toward the main hatch as she continues talking.

“Guess I’ll just have to coordinate this thing from the bridge instead.”

Arc moves to join her. “Alright. Lead the way.”

Gilda stops and turns to him. “That’s not happening.”

“Why not?”

“Regulations state that no animals are allowed inside the ship.”

Arc frowns. “Hey now! That’s not very nice!”

Gilda rolls her eyes. “You’re not a pony or a griffon, so what else could you be other than an animal?”

“I’m this nation’s Hero of Light.”

Gilda appears confused. “What’s that? Some kind of sport’s mascot?”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah. It’s a position that balances the powers that be in the capital and takes care of problems here in Equestria.”

“That didn’t really clear it up for me.”

“How about we start over then?”

Gilda groans. “I really don’t have time for this right now. My troops in the field need to be able to check in.”

She heads for the main hatch again, but Arc blocks her way.

“What’s the rush? I’m sure everything’s fine out there. I mean… just listen to all that quietness.”

Gilda glares at him as he blocks her path to the door. “Get out of the way dweeb!”

Arc grins. “Make me!”

Shrugging, Gilda takes few steps back and looks up at a large windshield high above them. Waving a talon to someone up there, she turns back to Arc and grins smugly.

“Now you’re gonna get it.”

“Oh?”

“I just called for a few of our troops to come and play with you.”

“Great! I love to play!”

Gilda snickers as the main hatch opens and a number of guards make their way out. “They’ll teach you a lesson while I’m gone. But don’t worry. I’ll be back to clean up the mess in a bit.”

She enters the ship as the guards surround Arc. Closing the door behind her, Gilda quickly makes her way up to the bridge. As she walks, she mutters to herself.

“What the heck was that thing out there? Some weird Equestrian pet, or something?”

Frowning, she continues thinking about it on the way. Shrugging as she approaches the bridge door, Gilda finishes her thought.

“Maybe I should try to capture it. Such a thing might make an interesting test subject for the lab back home. Or even an exotic gift for the king if it isn’t too dangerous.”

Entering the bridge, Gilda sees the crew lying on the floor unconscious. Running over to one, she checks for a pulse before breathing a sigh of relief.

“They’re alive! But I wonder what happened here!”

A voice rings out behind her.

“Overworked, probably.”

Whirling around, Gilda sees Arc sitting in the captain’s chair. Raising an eyebrow, she looks him over, confused.

“What the heck are you doing up here?!”

Arc shrugs. “Just sitting here waiting for you. Why do you ask?”

Gilda points to the crew. “And them?!”

“They started freaking out when I came in here. So, for their own safety as well as my own, I put them to sleep. Don’t worry, they’re fine.”

Gilda grimaces. “First I see one of you things outside on the deck! And now there’s one in here!”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah, that was me out there too.”

Gilda runs over to the main viewscreen. “Wait, what?!”

Looking outside, she spies the guards whom had been dispatched to take care of Arc lying in a heap on the deck. Turning, she spies Arc standing next to her looking out as well.

“Nice and tidy down there I must say.”

Gilda raises an eyebrow. “How did you…?!”

Arc cuts her off. “…get up here before you?”

“Right! You would have had to pass me!”

“It’s actually really simple. I just took them out quickly and Blinked back up here.”

Gilda appears confused. “Blinked?”

“Like this.”

Blinking out onto the deck, Arc reappears on the pile of unconscious guards. Looking up, he waves at Gilda before Blinking back onto the bridge and into the captain’s chair. Chuckling, he looks to her before speaking again.

“Any other questions?”

Gilda glares at him. “Really, what ARE you?!”

Arc shrugs as he stands. “Like I said before, I’m just Equestria’s Hero of Light. Keeping things balanced is more or less my task. But in any case, I do have to inform you that your ship is currently on Equestrian soil and your troops are sorta occupying one of our towns. Abandoned or not, I can’t allow you to do that.”

Gilda narrows her eyes. “You won’t allow me to do my duty?!”

Arc shakes his head. “No. At least not when your so-called duty involves invading one of our towns.”

Gilda groans. “We’re not getting anywhere by talking.”

“It would appear not, no. So, you’re suggesting that you and the other griffons with you leave, correct?”

“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of you getting out so that we can complete our task here!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “I’ll leave when you and your forces do.”

Gilda glares at him. “Are you threatening me, beast?!”

Leaning forward, Arc looks Gilda squarely in the eye as he speaks.

“The real question right now is… are you?”

Screeching loudly as she draws her sword and shield, Gilda charges headfirst at Arc. Shaking his head, he waits for her to approach. As she does so, Arc calls forth his own armor and holds up a gauntlet to catch her sword talon. At the same time, he puts his other hand on the bottom of her shield and shoves it upwards and back. It catches the griffon just under her beak and knocks her head back. Leaning forward, Arc puts a knee into Gilda’s gut as the young griffon falls backwards with him on top of her. The force of his knee pushing into her stomach knocks the wind out of her. Holding her sword to one side and the shield to her neck, Arc looks down at her soberly.

“Are you really sure that you want to keep fighting me, general? I don’t think you’re going to like what comes next.”

Gasping for breath, Gilda attempts to speak but fails. Arc presses her shield a bit harder against her throat as he continues.

“Can I take this as your surrender?”

Gilda looks up at Arc angrily but does not speak. Narrowing his eyes, Arc continues.

“If not, I can simply finish you off here and now. And after that, your bridge crew.”

After considering this for a few moments, Gilda sighs and nods weakly as Arc pulls the sword and shield from her talons and stands. Gilda takes a few moments to catch her breath before shakily getting back to her feet. Looking to him, she gasps.

“What… just what ARE you?!”

“Equestria’s Hero of Light, if you recall our earlier conversation. Try to go one on one with me and you’ll just get hurt.”

Gilda groans as she puts a talon to her belly. “You… won’t be so cocky… when my forces… start reporting back!”

Arc chuckles. “Oh, but I think I will be.”

“Think what you want. But they’ll make you regret those words.”

“Really?”

Gilda smirks. “Yeah.”

Arc gestures out the window. “Then why don’t you try recalling them?”

Gilda grins as she smacks a button on a nearby console. “I just did. It’s best if you just surrender now though.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “You… and what army?”

Gilda points a talon out the window. “The one that’s coming!”

Continuing to point, she frowns as the seconds tick by. Groaning, Gilda runs over to another console and calls out into a microphone.

“Hey! We’ve got trouble at the ship! Everyone return at once!”

Turning to look out the window, she again sees no one. Touching the radio button again, she continues.

“All squads report!”

Again, silence. Arc chuckles as he walks over to her.

“It looks like you’re on your own here, general. So… do you want to take another shot at me, or is surrendering in the cards?”

Gilda bows her head. “I… guess I have no choice.”

Turning to Arc, Gilda suddenly pulls a knife from her belt and hurls it at her opponent. Smacking it away with a gauntlet, it flies back at her and embeds itself in Gilda’s talon. Crying out in pain, she instinctively holds her bleeding talon and crawls backwards as Arc draws his Spear of Righteousness and points it to her face.

“Last chance, griffon! I want your full and unconditional surrender right here and now! Or death to you and your forces will be a likelihood!”

Grimacing, Gilda nods sadly.

“I… I surrender my forces to you, beast.”

“Hero of Light.”

“Fine… whatever loser.”

Arc nods as he spies a robed pony jumping up onto the ship’s main deck. “Good. And just in time it seems.”

Motioning to the pony outside, Arc turns to Gilda.

“Let them in.”

Nodding, Gilda limps over to a console and presses a button. The main hatch slides open and Tempest walks inside. Making her way past the unconscious guards she starts walking to the bridge. Arriving, Tempest looks around at all the unconscious crew members strewn around the room before looking to Arc.

“It would appear that you did… alright, I suppose.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Just ‘alright’?! I took out all the guards and crew in here without breaking a sweat!”

Tempest points a hoof out the window toward the town. “And I stopped forty griffon guards without even being seen!”

Arc shrugs. “We’ll call it a tie then.”

Tempest looks to Gilda and grins. “Good. You were able to take the leader alive.”

“They’re more useful that way.”

Tempest points a hoof at Gilda. “She give you much trouble?”

Arc motions to her bleeding talon. “Nothing I couldn’t handle. But one of her sneak attacks went sideways.”

Tempest grins. “I’ll take it from here then.”

Walking over to Gilda, Tempest grabs her by the front of her armor and pushes her down onto the deck roughly.

“What are you doing here?!”

Gilda grimaces. “Just following orders.”

Tempest smirks wickedly. “Wrong answer!”

Kicking her talon to one side, Tempest stomps on the young griffon’s bad talon hard. Gilda cries out in pain as Tempest continues speaking.

“Again… why are you here!”

“I… was told to… come here and get… whatever supplies… we could find!”

Tempest frowns. “Piracy then?!”

Gilda shakes her head. “This town is abandoned though! It’s not like anything here is being used, after all!”

Tempest seethes. “It’s still in Equestria though!”

Arc steps forward. “Easy there. She was just following orders.”

Tempest turns to Arc. “Which amounts to theft!”

“I suppose it does, yes. But if we hurt her any further it may lead to an international incident.”

“This already is one!”

Tempest looks down at Gilda and smiles wickedly before continuing.

“I wonder what state secrets are in that feathery little head of yours.”

Gilda’s eyes grow wide. “But I don’t know anything!”

“We’ll figure that out ourselves during your interrogation.”

Arc shrugs. “Why wait then? Let’s ask her some questions now.”

Tempest grins. “Go ahead.”

Arc looks to Gilda. “How is your war effort against Abyssinia going?”

“Very well. We’ve been able to push them back several times now.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “Government propaganda.”

Gilda frowns. “What did you say?

“My intel says that the Griffon Kingdom is losing ground against the Abyssinians fast lately.”

Gilda looks away. “We outnumber them ten to one though!”

Tempest scoffs. “More lies by your government.”

“I checked it with the latest census data!”

“Oh, did you now?”

Gilda nods. “Yes, it’s the truth!”

Tempest shakes her head. “More citizens, maybe. But how many of them are battle ready soldiers?”

Gilda is silent for a time as she ponders this. Eventually Tempest continues.

“Very few I would imagine. That and I know for a fact that your resources are all but expended.”

Arc gestures out the window. “Hence the need for this invasion.”

Gilda frowns. “But we weren’t invading! Just… looking for supplies!”

Tempest points outside with a hoof. “Where are we?!”

“Just outside of a town called Dodge Junction.”

“Which is in what country?!”

“Equestria.”

Tempest seethes. “That’s called ‘invading’, genius!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “And if your side really was doing as well as you’ve been led to believe, why would they risk an international incident with a crazy stunt like this?!”

Gilda avoids their gazes. “I’m a soldier. It’s not my place to question…”

Tempest smacks her insignia. “You’re an officer! It’s you job to think about everything before doing something idiotic! Like trying to sack a foreign town!”

Arc looks to Tempest. “What should we do with her?”

Tempest smirks as she draws a blade. “My suggestion is that we make an example out of this one and her crew, for starters.”

Arc frowns. “Example?”

“Allow a skeleton crew to remain alive in order to fly the ship while we execute the rest of them.”

Gilda gasps. “What?! NO! Please, they don’t deserve that!”

Tempest smirks at her wickedly. “You’ll be the last to die as well! After you watch me gut the rest of your troops like fish!”

Arc looks to Gilda. “Unless you’d be willing to do us a favor, that is.”

Gilda appears hopeful. “Anything!”

“Fly back to the Griffon Kingdom and deliver a message to the powers that be over there.”

Gilda nods fervently. “Yes, yes! What should I tell them?”

“That we are very upset by their decision to invade Equestria and attempt to steal from our land. However, we are not completely without mercy or understanding regarding their current situation. Therefore, we are allowing the commanding officer of the mission, you, and your troops to return home without further incident.”

Tempest smirks. “And you’ll tell them about how two of Equestria’s finest were enough to effortlessly stop you and your forces without suffering any sort of injury.”

Arc looks to Tempest. “Any of her guards injured while you were doing your thing?”

Tempest shrugs. “Nothing too serious. A few broken wings, a couple likely concussions, and a number of sore backs from what I could tell. But zero fatalities.”

“Good.”

He returns his gaze to Gilda before continuing.

“We’ll be confiscating all the weapons and armor from your troops though.”

Tempest chuckles. “As well as your ship’s cargo.”

Arc cuts in. “Except for the food, water, fuel, and medical supplies, yes.”

Gilda bows her head. “I guess I can’t really say ‘no’ to such an offer.”

Tempest puts a hoof on her blade hilt. “Exactly. Not if you want to keep breathing, that is.”

Arc uses a Telekinesis Spell to pull Gilda’s arms to his hands. “Right. Now then, I’ll be keeping your sword and shield. But let’s get your troops on the deck and here on the bridge taken care of.”

Arc puts the armaments into his magic ring as Tempest motions for Gilda to start walking. Sometime later they stand in front of the group whom is sitting on the deck in rows. A number of ponies appear nearby as Tempest looks over the guardrail before turning to Arc.

“It would appear that our backup is here.”

Arc breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. I wasn’t enjoying there being this many enemy combatants and just the two of us to watch them.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Uh… you do realize that we took them out to begin with, right?”

Arc nods. “True. But not all at once and not when they were together.”

Tempest smirks. “I’d have liked those odds.”

Arc gestures to the newcomers as he looks to Tempest. “In any case, why don’t you show them the way to the supplies so that we can get out of here.”

Tempest turns and motions for them to follow her. “Yeah. I’m on it.”

She points a hoof at the ship as Spitfire lands on the deck with a few pegasi.

“Check their cargo hold for anything that could be useful.”

Arc quickly chimes in. “Look for a manifest too. I want to know exactly what they have.”

Spitfire looks to Tempest. “Uh… he’s not really in charge here, is he?”

Tempest shrugs. “Kinda is. Hero of Light, and all that.”

Sighing, Spitfire enters the ship with her group. Sometime later she returns with a clipboard. Giving it to Arc, she speaks.

“Here you are.”

Arc accepts it. “Thank you.”

Spitfire continues talking as Arc reads it over. “We’ve just completed transporting everything back to base.”

Arc looks over the clipboard as he frowns. “Everything?”

Spitfire nods. “Yes. There isn’t anything left in their cargo hold.”

“What about the food and water?”

“Back at base now.”

Arc frowns. “And how exactly do you expect them to get back to the Griffon Kingdom?”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow. “Uh… in their airship.”

“I meant without supplies.”

Spitfire shrugs. “It takes weeks to die of starvation and days for dehydration though.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “We’re not monsters here, colonel! Put the food and water back!”

“But…!”

Arc smacks the side of the ship angrily with a fist. “NOW!”

Spitfire groans as she pulls out her bead. “Very well. I’ll head back and talk to the general about it. But that’s all I’m willing to do.”

She vanishes and reappears on the pad. Spotting Cherry looking over the stacks of supplies taken from the griffon ship, Spitfire walks over to her and salutes.

“General.”

Cherry sighs. “I’ve told you that you don’t actually have to call me that in the past.”

“Yes, well… Tempest has taken command of a small group of our forces to reclaim the supplies from the saloon.”

“Good. We’ll need them.”

“There’s just one slight problem.”

“Oh?”

“That… creature whom claims to be the Hero of Light is insisting that we return the food and water to the griffon’s airship.”

Cherry turns to her. “What?!”

Spitfire grins. “Should I tell him to stop worrying about those birds?”

Cherry shakes her head vehemently. “No, no! They need food and water to get home! Bring all of such provisions back at once!”

Spitfire groans. “At once, general.”

A short time later Spitfire reappears on the deck with a number of others whom are carrying several boxes. Walking up to Arc, she frowns.

“The food has been ordered sent back by General Cherry.”

“Good. And the water?”

Spitfire sighs. “There were just a few casks of it when we opened the crates.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“The rest of them were filled with garbage.”

“Excuse me a moment.”

Turning, Arc walks over to Gilda whom is sitting with the rest of her troops.

“I’m told that you only had a small amount of water aboard your ship.”

Gilda sighs. “Yes, that’s true.”

“Was that some kind of clerical error on the part of your supply officer, or something?”

Gilda shakes her head. “Not exactly. You see, water is really scarce right now in the Griffon Kingdom. We were given enough to get here, of course. But I was told that I would need to steal enough supplies in order to get home again.”

Arc frowns. “Steal water?”

“We didn’t really have a choice in the matter.”

“I see.”

Turning, Arc motions for Spitfire to approach. As she does so, he continues.

“Colonel, I want you to take General Gilda and a couple of her soldiers into town and get a few empty barrels from the saloon.”

Spitfire appears confused. “I don’t understand why though.”

“You’ll need to fill them with water before returning to the ship though.”

Spitfire frowns. “And the water is for what purpose?”

Arc gestures to the prisoners. “For their trip across the ocean.”

“But they could just try to escape!”

Arc removes the Spear of Righteousness from his ring and points it at the prisoners. “Oh, I don’t think she’d risk that. After all, with her disappearance, who would lead these poor griffon’s home?”

Gilda looks up to Arc. “If I promise not to try and escape, will you guarantee the safety of my forces while I’m away?”

Arc nods. “Yes. But only if they also agree not to try and flee.”

“That is acceptable.”

Arc motions to Spitfire. “Take a couple of their stronger looking soldiers and follow the general into town then.”

Gilda stands and looks to her troops before clearing her throat and speaking.

“I’ll be back in a little while! None of you losers move! Got it?!”

They nod silently as Gilda points to two guards.

“You and you… come with me.”

Rising, they follow their general along with Spitfire and a couple pony guards down the gangplank. Tempest turns to Arc and frowns.

“Are you nuts?!”

Arc shrugs. “Maybe. Regarding what exactly?”

“You’re giving our enemies food and water!”

“Don’t prisoners have the right to eat though?”

“Yes, but…!”

Arc interrupts her. “And to have clean drinking water?”

“But you’re going to let them leave!”

“So what?”

Tempest lowers her voice. “We could use them as bargaining chips with the Griffon Kingdom! Word is that they’re pretty low on soldiers these days!”

Arc looks over those before him. “Admittedly, these don’t appear to be their brightest and best.”

“Probably don’t want to risk losing those whom can actually fight on supply runs behind enemy lines.”

Arc frowns. “Are you saying that this was thought to be a suicide mission?”

“Maybe not ‘suicide’ per say. But certainly a very risky mission nonetheless. Think about it this way. Should this group have been caught by us, as they were, it wouldn’t make sense for the Griffon Kingdom to send any sort of a rescue party after them.”

Arc nods as he puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Agreed. It was a big enough risk in terms of resources and soldiers just to send this many over here.”

“That means their nation is desperate.”

Arc frowns. “Then Abyssinia may not be too far behind them for a supply raid or two.”

“Not likely. They don’t have much in terms of airship technology. Their primary mode of transportation is via the water. Strange as it may sound for cats.”

“That sounds as if it would be even more resource intensive than this attempt was.”

Tempest grunts. “Exactly. But if the Griffon Kingdom really is this desperate for supplies then I doubt this will be the last we see of their antics on our soil.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “We’ll have to talk it over with the general when we get back to base then.”

Tempest nods as she keeps a hoof on her weapons. “Agreed.”

Sometime later Spitfire leads Gilda and her soldiers up the gangplank. They are rolling a number of casks filled with water. Spitfire looks to Tempest and speaks.

“Any trouble while we were gone?”

Tempest shakes her head. “They didn’t make so much as a peep the whole time.”

“Good.”

Turning to Arc, she frowns and continues.

“Any more aid you’d like us to render to the enemy, sir? Maybe back massages for everypony?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, I think they have what they need to get back to the Griffon Kingdom.”

Turning to Gilda, he continues.

“Am I right?”

Gilda nods nervously. “Yes sir.”

“Good. Now then, board your vessel and take off at once. And relay a message to your superiors for me.”

“What would you have me tell them?”

Arc frowns. “Just that I don’t want to see you or any of your forces here again trying to steal our resources. Failure to do so will result in another visit from our military. And me personally.”

Grabbing the guardrail next to him, Arc heavily bends it down before putting a boot on it and turning to Gilda again.

“Next time I will not be so forgiving.”

Gilda gulps nervously. “Yes, I’ll see to it that the message is delivered.”

“Very good. Now then, I want you to leave our land and take the most direct route out of our airspace.

Nodding, Gilda motions for her soldiers to stand. As they do so, she speaks.

“Back inside the ship, everyone! I want to get underway at once!”

The troops obey and head for the main hatch. Arc motions for Spitfire and Tempest to follow him down the gangplank and away from the ship. A short time later they watch as the vessel takes off and flies away. Tempest turns to Arc and frowns.

“I still say that we could have used their supplies and soldiers as leverage.”

Spitfire grimaces. “And their ship too.”

Arc turns to Tempest. “Do you have the facilities to hold that many prisoners?”

Tempest sighs. “Not really.”

Arc looks to Spitfire. “And does your organization have the facilities to care for, hide, and maintain an airship?”

“Not… really, no.”

“Then letting them go was probably the best thing to do.”

Tempest stomps a hoof. “With a bunch of dead soldiers aboard would have sent a sterner message.”

Arc shrugs. “Perhaps. But that’s not the dialogue we need to be sending our neighbors across the sea right now.”

Spitfire frowns. “I have to agree with Tempest on this one. We should have sent those turkeys back to their homeland in boxes. Especially their general.”

Arc rolls his eyes. “Yes, starting a war with the Griffon Kingdom right now would be perfect timing.”

Tempest grits her teeth. “We could take them!”

“Really?”

Spitfire shrugs. “Kinda could. I mean, Canterlot has been shooting down any vessel that approaches it from the east.”

Arc looks to the ship as it flies away. “That’s why they left by the south? To avoid artillery fire from the capital?”

Tempest nods. “Exactly. But they must’ve had to fly three times as far out of their way to avoid detection by our nation’s forces on the coast.”

Spitfire bows her head. “Well, now that you let them go with that information, the Griffon Kingdom will know that this route will get them into Equestria safely.”

Arc looks around. “Perhaps we could set up a listening post here then. Have a few soldiers keep an eye on the skies from Dodge Junction.”

Tempest shrugs. “That’s not really necessary at this point.”

“Oh?”

“Their general probably overheard the idea of our own resource gathering operation here. So she’ll know we’re going to remove anything of use from the town.”

Spitfire nods as she looks to the north. “Which means that they would have to fly further and most certainly be spotted by somepony on the way.”

Tempest motions to the Town Hall. “I’ll have somepony set up a camera though. We can monitor this place from our base.”

Arc sighs. “Good. As long as it seals up this potential security issue.”

Sometime later a stallion approaches Spitfire and salutes.

“We’ve removed everything of use from the saloon’s back room, colonel.”

“Good. And the two mares buried in the alleyway?”

“We don’t know where they should be laid to rest though, ma’am. Nor do we have the tools dig a grave or make a proper headstone.”

Spitfire sighs. “Fine. I’ll talk to the general about them though. See what she wants done.”

Arc looks around. “We should probably get moving though. No reason to stand around in this desolate place.”

Tempest grimaces. “Agreed. That and I’d like to report back and get General Cherry’s take on how this matter was handled.”

She removes her bead from a pouch in her leather armor and turns to the others.

“Everypony head back to base now.”

One by one everyone vanishes from sight as they power up their beads. Eventually, Arc and Spitfire stand in the middle of the road alone. Spitfire looks up to him and sighs.

“Shall we be off?”

Arc nods. “Sure.”

Spitfire holds up her bead. “Need a ride back?”

Arc shakes his head. “No thanks. I’ve got my own method of travel.”

Shrugging, Spitfire vanishes. Arc holds up his gauntlet and looks back toward the two graves in the alley. Sighing, he opens a portal and steps through. Reappearing in the center of the tent again, he looks around to see others taking the supplies out one crate at a time. Platinum Valve goes over her clipboard as she takes inventory with Cherry. Looking up at the mare, she speaks.

“That should be everything, general.”

“Very good, Platinum Valve. Now then, make sure everything is properly organized and stored properly at the depot.

Platinum Valve sighs. “That tent is getting pretty full though.”

Spitfire points a hoof. “We have a number of unpitched tents in storage though. Get somepony to put one or two of them up to accommodate the extra supplies.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The little filly hurries out the tent flap as Cherry turns to Tempest and Spitfire. Gesturing with a wave of her hoof at the supplies, she smiles.

“It would appear everything went according to your plan.”

Tempest nods. “No major complications and no casualties. Not something we can always say.”

Spitfire motions to Arc as he too approaches. “Even though our Hero of Light wanted to help our enemies.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “I don’t see how giving them food and water to return to their homeland could be seen as ‘helping’ them.”

Tempest shrugs. “I have no love for the Griffon Kingdom or its antics. However, even I have to admit that it would be very bad for our international reputation to become that which amounts to slow butchers.”

Arc nods soberly. “They might not have died en route. However, had there been any kind of malfunction aboard their ship it’s not likely they’d have had time to fix it before succumbing to dehydration. And we can deal with them fittingly at a later date.”

Turning to Cherry, he continues.

“So… what are your thoughts on my performance?”

“Very interesting. No loss of life on either side and you’ve defended the land from a small invasion force.”

Spitfire frowns. “Very small.”

“I think that you’re just what we need around here to start making headway on our ultimate goal.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Which is…?”

Cherry points to the map on a nearby table. “Being able to return Equestria to normal and free it from Canterlot’s iron grip.”

Arc clenches a fist. “I’m in. Just let me know what needs to be done.”

Tempest looks to Cherry. “Guess we’d best start with a tour of our camp.”

“Agreed.”

Stepping toward the tent flap, Cherry pulls it aside and motions for Arc to step forward. As he stands up outside, he gasps at the sight before him.

“I… what the…?! Are we on the moon?!”

Cherry nods. “That we are, yes.”

“But how?!”

Tempest shrugs. “I don’t really get the details of it myself.”

Spitfire sighs. “To make a long story short, all of this was a contingency plan of Princess Luna’s. In the event of a fallback position becoming necessary she had standing orders that the Nightborn were to open up their secret citadel upon the moon to those whom needed shelter.”

Cherry waves a robed stallion over. “I’ll let their leader tell you more.”

The stallion moves to join them. Looking to Arc, he speaks.

“Um… hello there.”

Arc nods stoically. “Moonlit Dusk, I presume?”

Tossing back his hood, the stallion eyes him suspiciously.

“Yes. But how did you know that?”

“When you’re the Hero of Light sometimes you pick things up covertly.”

Cherry clears her throat in an effort to keep the conversation moving. “In any case, Moonlit Dusk represents the Nightborn Citadel here at Lunar Base.”

Arc looks to Equus off in the distance. “The name makes sense now.”

Moonlit Dusk nods. “We aid the resistance these days out of concern for the Night Mother’s safety. She has not been heard from since the eternal night fell over the land.”

Spitfire waves a hoof dismissively. “She’s probably fine.”

Tempest chuckles. “Yeah. Alicorn princesses are pretty tough, after all.”

Moonlit Dusk continues. “My own forces have combed the land searching for clues to what exactly happened to bring us to this point. However, as of this date, no headway has been made in that regard.”

Arc nods. “What about trying to raise the sun ourselves?”

Cherry shakes her head. “Nopony around is that powerful though.”

Moonlit Dusk sighs. “Normally my Nightborn could raise the sun if we put our magical powers together. However, when we tried to do so it felt as if the sun and moon were being held in place by some outside force.”

Tempest frowns. “Probably by Nightmare Moon somehow.”

Arc looks around. “Maybe it’s kinda late to ask this, but… how are we still breathing out here?”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t we be though?”

Spitfire shrugs. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we’re under water.”

Moonlit Dusk chuckles. “This is what the Night Mother referred to as the ‘blue area’ of the moon. It served as both her home and prison for a thousand years after she was banished here for the Nightmare Moon incident.”

Cherry continues. “And it’s the only place that Canterlot can’t get to. At least not in any great numbers, that is.”

She holds up her bead before continuing.

“Our beads only allow transport for one or two ponies. So they would have to get their hooves on quite a large number of them to be a viable invasion option.”

Tempest points to the command center tent. “And if they did try to invade, we could always just shut off the machine when they first start coming.”

Spitfire nods. “That too. Which is another reason we’re here.”

Arc turns his gaze to the land around him. “I’m just seeing a lot of tents though.”

Cherry sighs. “We don’t really have any building supplies to make anything useful.”

Tempest points a hoof to some small structures against another tent. “We’ve been able to confiscate some water recycling machines from the Wonderbolt’s Academy and set up a number of showering stations to maintain personal hygiene though. Best thing out there to ward away infections. Especially of those injured on missions.”

Spitfire frowns. “Security takes a front seat over comfort though.”

Moonlit Dusk shrugs. “But the down side is that we’re pretty ineffective up here.”

Cherry looks back toward Equus far away. “It was assumed that Princess Luna meant for this place to be used only for very brief stints. Not for ponies to live up here for weeks or months at a time.”

She turns and points a hoof before continuing.

“That patch of smaller tents is family housing. The larger ones nearby are for group living. Soldiers or displaced individuals can rest there.”

Tempest motions to a decent sized tent off to one side. “And that’s our temporary branch of the New Beginnings Orphanage.”

Spitfire appears relieved. “We were able to evacuate all the orphans before things got too bad in Vanhoover.”

Arc grimaces. “Any of them hurt?”

Cherry bows her head. “Fortunately not. At least not physically.”

Arc nods as he looks to the tent. “I’d like to see how they’re doing.”

Tempest narrows her eyes. “For what purpose?”

“Just an inspection. After all, the foals of Equestria are an important part of our nation’s future. And as such I just want to make sure they’re being properly cared for.”

Cherry bows her head respectfully. “Very well. Whatever it takes to put your mind at ease, Hero of Light.”

They walk over to the tent and enter together. A filly sees Tempest and calls out to the others.

“Attention!”

Everyone gets into a line and faces Tempest. They salute and wait for her to speak.

“At ease.”

The foals sit down on their haunches as Tempest turns to Arc.

“As you can see, they are healthy, well-fed, and being trained on how to conduct themselves militarily.”

Arc frowns. “Militarily?”

Spitfire sighs. “While I don’t like to think about it, we may need replacement soldiers to carry on the fight one day.”

Cherry nods soberly. “Sadly, yes. As there has been no headway on this matter in quite some time.”

Tempest turns her head to a small colt. “Pipsqueak, where is Coco Pommel?”

“She’s at the depot trying to get us some food for supper tonight.”

The foal whom called the room to attention steps forward.

“She left me in charge, ma’am.”

Tempest nods. “Very good. Anything to report, Aquamarine?”

Aquamarine shakes her head. “No, ma’am. We were just having a bit of play time while Matron Coco Pommel is gone.”

Tempest looks around the tent at the orphans. “Good. As long as everypony is behaving themselves, then I’m happy. Now then, have you all been playing the new games I laid out for you?”

Pipsqueak nods. “Yes, ma’am. Tackle Tag and Hide and Go Sneak are the most popular ones.”

Tempest smiles at him. “Those skills will serve you well someday. Maybe even save your lives at some point.”

The tent flap opens and Coco Pommel enters pulling a cart laden with small boxes. She smiles at Tempest and speaks.

“Good day, matron.”

Tempest shakes her head. “Remember, you’re the matron now, Coco Pommel.”

Coco Pommel sighs. “Sorry, ma’am. I keep forgetting.”

“I’m told you’re doing a good job here though.”

Pipsqueak hops up and down happily. “Training is fun!”

Aquamarine sighs. “Usually, yeah. If a bit rough some days.”

Coco Pommel smiles. “I’m glad you all like it. But I do hope that you’ll never need to use these skills.”

Tempest gestures to Arc. “They may not have to, yes. This is the Hero of Light. He wanted to come here and… inspect the orphan’s living conditions.”

Coco Pommel appears confused. “Oh? Is something wrong?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, ma’am. I just wanted to see for myself how the orphans were treated and cared for.”

Looking around, he continues.

“Safe and relatively clean living quarters. Toys and an education too, I assume?”

Coco Pommel nods. “Yes sir. We have lessons in the morning and training in the afternoon.”

Arc kneels down in front of Pipsqueak and Aquamarine. “They all look healthy and happy as well.”

Pipsqueak grins. “We are, yes.”

Aquamarine pats his head. “It’s okay since we’re all together up here.”

Arc looks to Pipsqueak. “Is there anything I can do for you little ones?”

Pipsqueak puts a hoof to his chin. “Well… I would like to go back to the real orphanage as soon as possible.”

Aquamarine nods. “Camping out here is kinda fun. But I miss my old bed back in the dormitories.”

Pipsqueak points a hoof to a stack of rolled up sleeping bags in a corner. “Any bed would be better than what we have now.”

Arc sighs. “I’ll… see what I can do about that.”

Turning to Cherry, he continues.

“That’s all I wanted to see. But we should probably speak more outside.”

Nodding, Cherry leads the way out of the tent. Tempest turns to Arc.

“Very commendable.”

“Huh?”

“Caring about the orphans. Most folks just kinda see right through them.”

Arc sighs. “That I understand.”

Spitfire looks to Cherry. “So what else is there to show him?”

“Admittedly, not much. The Hero of Light has already seen the command center, orphanage, supply depot, and the dormitory tents.”

Arc turns to her. “How are you doing on supplies?”

“Alright at the moment thanks to those liberated from both Apple Base and Dodge Junction. However, we could always use more of them.”

Tempest frowns. “Agreed. After all, who knows just how long we’ll be stuck up here before things normalize back in Canterlot.”

Spitfire stomps a hoof. “Ultimately, I believe that we need to take the fight to them. Nothing’s changing in the capital, so they’re probably just waiting us out.

Arc folds his arms over his chest as he looks out toward Equus. “Besieged.”

Cherry looks to him. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Many years ago, when an invading army wanted to take down a walled city but didn’t want to lose a lot of troops doing so, they would ‘besiege’ the place. Surround it with troops and not allow supply caravans to enter.”

Spitfire frowns. “So they would starve them out?”

Arc nods. “More or less.”

Tempest turns to Cherry. “Sounds like what Canterlot is counting on.”

Cherry grits her teeth. “Eventually they’ll win without so much as a single soldier lost on their side.”

Spitfire points to the planet with a hoof angrily. “All the more reason to take the fight to the surface!”

Tempest sighs. “I like your attitude, Spitfire. But we don’t have the resources to do anything that would truly hurt Canterlot at this point in time.”

Cherry nods soberly. “Even if we were to march on the capital, there’s still the barrier around it that needs dealing with first.”

Spitfire groans. “And no plan on how to accomplish such a task.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “We need to start small and work up to something like that.”

Cherry appears hopeful. “What did you have in mind?”

“First off, making the base self-sufficient.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Self-sufficient?”

Arc nods. “Yeah. Show Canterlot that we won’t be starved out. That we can stay up here as long as we need to.”

Spitfire sighs. “A nice idea. But how though?”

“First, by upgrading our living conditions for all.”

Arc looks around before continuing.

“I need a large, flat piece of land for this.”

Cherry points a hoof. “How about over there?”

“Is that area used for anything currently?”

Spitfire shakes her head. “Just for future expansion for more tents when needed.”

Arc grins. “Perfect. Wait here.”

Taking a number of steps forward, Arc pulls something from his magic ring. Setting it carefully down on the ground, he backs up significantly before casting a spell. A large building slowly grows to full size right in front of them as the three mares look on in amazement. Finishing his task, Arc turns to them.

“Here we are. One bona-fide military base.”

Cherry gasps. “It… it’s real!”

Tempest nods as she turns to Arc. “Yes. Wherever did you acquire such a thing?”

Spitfire narrows her eyes. “Do tell.”

“Princess Luna had it built for me a few years ago. She wanted me to have a place to fall back to after missions.”

He gestures to it with a gauntlet before continuing.

“Would you care to see the interior?”

Cherry nods. “Yes, we would!”

Entering, Arc turns to them.

“This is the Main Hall. Not much to say about it other than it’s where my secretary would greet visitors as needed.”

Tempest looks around. “Uh… anypony here now?”

Arc shakes his head. “Not at the moment, no. They were reassigned before I shrunk the base down a while back.”

Spitfire smirks. “It’s designation?”

“Light’s Hope.”

“Never heard of any projects with that name before.”

Tempest shrugs. “It does make sense to keep it a secret though. You know as well as I do that the Hero of Light is meant to be a clandestine warrior.”

Arc nods. “That I am. Well, as much as I am able, what with being rather… recognizable. But we should probably continue.”

Making their way down the main corridor, Arc stops and opens a set of double doors.

“Here we have one of our VIP suites.”

Cherry smiles. “It’s very nice.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “What is this needed for though?!”

Arc looks to Tempest. “Visiting foreign dignitaries and princesses.”

Spitfire rolls her eyes. “When do they ever come out though?”

Arc chuckles as he closes the door. “You’d be surprised. These rooms have seen quite a bit of use in the past.”

Cherry points a hoof. “What about that smaller door over there?”

Spitfire shrugs. “Looks like a janitor’s closet?”

Arc shakes his head. “My quarters actually.”

Tempest scoffs. “They probably put this room’s luxury to shame.”

“Not really.”

Walking over to the door, Arc opens it and steps aside. The mares enter and look around, clearly confused. Cherry is the first to speaks.

“It’s very homey.”

Tempest nods approvingly. “Spartan.”

Spitfire sighs. “Can’t argue with that.”

Arc gestures with a hand. “I asked for a simple room. It just needed to be functional. Not elaborate.”

Making their way out to the corridor again, Arc leads them down a ways before opening another set of double doors.

“Here’s our training room and armory. The soldiers assigned to me would work on their fighting prowess here when time permitted.”

Cherry looks to the racks of weapons along one wall. “This would be enough to outfit everypony in the base!”

Tempest grins. “Several times over, I might add.”

Spitfire picks up a weapon.” They seem very well made.”

Arc nods. “That they are. Whomever is in charge of training will be able to do so from here.”

Spitfire grins. “I’ll take that task on when I can.”

Cherry looks to Arc. “While I hate to ask this of you, does this facility have any food within it?”

Arc nods. “Our very next stop.”

Leaving the training room, Arc leads them to the cafeteria. Gesturing to the buffets, he speaks.

“I’ve never had any trouble feeding my troops in the past. With proper meal scheduling, that is.”

Cherry giggles. “It’s very large, yes.”

Spitfire points a hoof. “That the kitchen?”

“Yes. Fancy a look.”

Tempest shrugs. “Might as well.”

Stepping forward, they look over the prep areas, stoves with ovens, and the large pantry full of supplies. Cherry nods approvingly.

“We won’t have to worry about food for quite some time now.”

Tempest shakes her head. “It will eventually run out though.”

Spitfire grins. “But this gives us a chance to figure out a more permanent solution in the meantime.”

Arc nods. “I might have an idea there. However, we can talk about that later as we have another stop to make.”

Walking down the corridor, Arc pushes open a double door to expose numerous bunk beds.

“This is the barracks. As you can see, we have the facilities to house quite a few soldiers.”

Cherry grins. “Or in our case, refugees.”

Spitfire points a hoof at the latrine nearby. “And we’ll be able to keep clean too.”

Tempest nods. “And sleep in real beds instead of on the ground.”

Arc gestures to a linen closet nearby. “Extra sheets, blankets, and washing facilities in there too. But now I have one last thing to show you all.”

Making their way back to the corridor, Arc approaches a large set of double doors. Pushing them open he gestures to the large number of desks lines up before speaking.

“This is the War Room. From here, we can coordinate any and all offenses below.”

Tempest smirks. “It looks very… complete.”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow skeptically. “Why would the princesses build such a room though? I mean… Equestria was peaceful back when it was designed.”

Arc sighs. “That it was, yes. And I asked that very question myself when I originally toured this place. Princess Luna told me that it was set up this way if the need to run the nation from here ever came up.”

Cherry raises an eyebrow. “Run the nation from here?”

“Assuming something happened to Canterlot Castle, the princesses could come here and continue doing their duties within this facility until it was safe to return to the capital.”

Tempest looks around. “What about situations requiring… extra coordinating?”

Spitfire frowns. “Such as the room’s name implies?”

Arc nods. “Yes, one could coordinate a war from here.”

He gestures to a large door nearby before continuing.

“There’s my office.”

Walking over to it, they see a well-furnished office complete with maps of the countryside. Arc turns to Cherry.

“You can use this office to coordinate your forces.”

Cherry gasps. “Me?!”

Spitfire shrugs. “Well, you ARE the general.”

Tempest nods. “Agreed.”

Cherry shakes her head vehemently. “But I don’t have any experience leading troops into battle or coming up with plans!”

Spitfire steps forward. “I do though. Studied tactics and leadership during my time at the Wonderbolts Academy.”

Tempest raises a hoof. “And I know all about clandestine operations as well as guerilla warfare.”

Arc points to them. “You two could probably handle planning our moves then.”

Cherry smiles nervously. “While I keep things here moving smoothly for the civilians.”

Arc nods. “Yes, they do need someone to be there for them too. But one thing confuses me.”

“Oh?”

“Can I assume that you don’t have any real military or combat training?”

Cherry shakes her head. “Not in the least. I ran Cherry Hill Ranch in Dodge Junction before all this happened.”

“Then why are you the general here?”

Tempest shrugs. “Because she rallied the ponies of Dodge Junction to leave when things went south.”

Spitfire puts a hoof on Cherry’s shoulder. “She gained their trust even before this. So the civilians just kinda started calling her ‘the general’.”

Cherry looks to Arc. “But now that you’re here, I think you should take over, sir.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Um… but you don’t even know anything about me.”

Cherry sighs as she walks over to the desk. She puts a hoof on it as she looks out the window.

“Maybe not. But the princesses do, and entrusted much to you by making you our nation’s Hero of Light.”

She turns to him soberly before continuing.

“That, and if the princesses really are in trouble, you may be the only one able to rally the troops and help them at this point.”

Arc nods. “I’ll certainly give it my best shot. But I think I should probably introduce myself properly first.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Introduce?”

“If we’re going to be working together, it just makes sense that all of you should know whom I am.”

Spitfire gasps. “But nopony is supposed to know the Hero of Light’s identity! That’s how they can hide in plain sight!”

Arc chuckles. “That doesn’t really work for me. Given the whole… you know…”

He motions to his helmet before continuing.

“So now that I know all of your names, here’s mine.”

Removing his helmet, Arc sets it on the desk.

“My name is Arc. I’m a human.”

Cherry raises an eyebrow. “A… human?”

Spitfire puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “I remember hearing about them as a filly. Never really thought anything about mythical creatures though.”

Tempest frowns. “Not so mythical at the moment it would seem.”

Arc nods. “Yes, well… if you’re all still interested in following me, I’ll do my best to lead you.”

Spitfire shrugs. “You’re the Hero of Light. Those of us in the military don’t really have much of a choice here.”

Tempest looks to Spitfire. “True. But I get the feeling this is for the best.”

Cherry taps the desk. “So you can keep the office, sir.”

Arc shakes his head. “Actually, I think Spitfire, Tempest, and you should share it.”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”

Tempest frowns. “The three of us?”

Arc nods. “You know more about the current situation than I do. We need to come up with plans together.”

Cherry turns to leave. “I’ll let your get to that then.”

Arc calls out after her. “We’ll also need your input too.”

“Oh?”

Tempest nods. “It might be for the best to have a non-military mind weigh in on things from time to time.”

Spitfire looks to Cherry. “You could still be the liaison between the military forces and the civilians, general.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Yes, they’ll need someone to help them with their issues. Kinda like a mayor, or something.”

Cherry smiles at this. “Sure, I can be the mayor if it would help. I’ll also assist in any other way that I can though.”

Arc gestures to the room around them. “Good. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on to the next order of business on our to do list. We need to get this place up and running again. At the moment we don’t have running water, heat, or even electricity. The lights you’ve seen thus far have just been our emergency backups, after all.”

Tempest looks to Spitfire. “We could probably find a way to wire in the solar array to get some power going.”

“But even that won’t be enough to run a place this big!”

Cherry looks to Arc. “How about a generator to supplement the lack of solar power?”

“I’m no engineer, but it would probably work. Not sure where we’d get such a thing though.”

Tempest turns to a map on the wall. “Our best bet would be to salvage one from a military base and retool it to fit our own power structure here.”

Spitfire shakes her head. “Even if we did, it would take some really big source of power to run.”

Arc walks over to Tempest. “So let’s start with the first problem then. Getting a generator here on site.”

“We could start checking the various secret installation around the country.”

Spitfire frowns. “How though. They’re secret.”

Tempest puts a hoof to her head. “Not to me.”

Cherry grins. “So you and Spitfire could find something, report its location back to us here, and then we’d send Platinum Valve and a team over there to see about relocating it to the Lunar Base.”

Arc chuckles. “Sounds like a plan for you two.”

Spitfire nods. “Yeah, we work well together.”

Tempest smirks. “Agreed. But what will you be doing while we’re out there?”

Arc looks out the window. “Finding a suitable power source for the a fore mentioned generator.”

Cherry gasps. “Where though?”

Arc shrugs. “I have a few ideas. But it involves going into some pretty dangerous places.”

Cherry puts a hoof on a nearby telephone. “Shall I send some of our soldiers with you, Arc?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, they’d probably just get killed. That and I need to be able to move quickly and silently to avoid detection.”

Tempest steps forward. “I’d be willing to come as well.”

“Thank you. But I’d rather you stick with Spitfire and get us a generator.”

“Fine then. When do you want us to leave?”

“Anytime you want. This is your mission, after all. However, I’m going to get a good night’s sleep first.”

He turns to Cherry before continuing.

“Why don’t you gather everyone together and get them bunked down in the dormitory? As you saw, it’s certainly big enough for everyone.”

Cherry salutes him. “Yes sir. But what about the families?”

Spitfire shrugs. “Put them in with the others. What’s the problem with that?”

Cherry sighs. “A few of them have small foals though. It wouldn’t do to have everypony wake up in the middle of the night to them crying, after all.”

Tempest groans. “We don’t have the facilities for them though. They could stay outside in their tents.”

Spitfire folds her hooves in front of her chest. “That seems a bit harsh though. I mean, what do we tell them? Sure we have this great big facility. But you can stay out there in tents?”

Tempest shrugs. “Not like it’s dangerous outside though.”

Arc sighs. “How many infants are there?”

Cherry turns to him. “About a dozen.”

“Do they have cribs?”

Spitfire nods. “Yeah. We raided Ponyville Hospital for bedding early on.”

“Good. We can clear some of the extra furniture out of one of the VIP suites and make that into a makeshift nursery for them and their parents to sleep in.”

Tempest scoffs. “But then if one foal woke up and started crying, they all would.”

Spitfire shrugs. “At least it would be limited to one room though.”

Arc nods. “And they’re soundproof walls too. Cribs along one wall and some bunk beds for their parents would be all they needed.”

Cherry looks to Arc. “What about splitting them up to the other VIP rooms?”

Arc shakes his head. “One of them should made into a makeshift clinic. Keep anyone sick in there and away from the others. We don’t want a cold making the rounds here.”

Cherry puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Not a bad idea there. Perhaps another for those recovering from injuries in the field too?”

Arc smiles. “Sounds good to me.”

Spitfire taps a hoof on the desk. “There were several of them though. Should the rest be used for storage?”

“Maybe later. How many officers are here?”

Tempest points a hoof. “Just Colonel Spitfire.”

Spitfire chuckles. “You’re close enough though.”

Tempest shrugs. “Then there’s two of us.”

Arc points. “What about Cherry?”

Cherry shakes her head. “My title as ‘general’ was strictly ceremonial. I don’t actually have any ties to the military. That and I’d rather stay in the dormitory with the others than be sequestered away in a private room.”

Arc nods. “Alright. Tempest, you and Spitfire should have a room together though due to your ranks.”

Spitfire frowns. “Not that I’m arguing, but we don’t really need that.”

Tempest chuckles. “Yeah, we can just stay in the dormitories with the others.”

Arc shrugs. “If you really want to you can. But I just figured that you’d want a nice quiet place to return to after missions. That way you could properly relax and not have to hear the general hubbub from everyone else.”

Spitfire puts a hoof to her chin. “That does make sense.”

Tempest looks to Spitfire. “We do need to stay at our best, after all.”

Arc nods. “Private room, private office, and private bathrooms too.”

Spitfire grins. “Alright, you sold us on the idea.”

Tempest shrugs. “Yeah.”

“Good. The one furthest from the main entrance has two single beds if I recall correctly.”

Spitfire looks to the door. “We’ll check it out.”

Cherry claps her hooves together excitedly. “Then I’ll get some guards to help everypony move their things into the base.”

Tempest stands. “And Spitfire and I will see about our room.”

Spitfire turns to the clock. “Probably should get started after supper though. It’s getting pretty late.”

Arc looks to Spitfire. “I’m guessing you have ponies here with cooking experience?”

“Just a few.”

“The Cakes from Ponyville, the bartender from Dodge Junction, and a restaurant owner from Canterlot along with his daughter whom were in the area when Canterlot was sealed.”

Arc nods. “Have them figure out how to make the kitchen work. We have enough battery powered devices and emergency backups to last us a while. But that doesn’t mean that permanent power can wait.”

Cherry raises a hoof. “I’ll talk to them about what it would take to switch over from outside cooking to the kitchen in here at suppertime.”

Arc looks around the group. “Then we all have our assignments. Cherry will run things here at Light’s Hope, or the Lunar Base as you’ve been calling it. Spitfire and Tempest will locate a suitable generator while I look for a power source.”

Tempest chimes in. “We could also use more experienced technicians too.”

Spitfire sighs. “Platinum Valve is our best right now. But her age and inexperience mean that she pretty much has to figure things out as she goes.”

Arc nods. “If I find anyone in my travels, I’ll send them back here.”

Tempest sighs. “That might be a double-edged sword though.”

Cherry appears confused. “How so, Tempest?”

“You have to understand that the more ponies we have here the more supplies we’ll need to keep everypony fed and healthy.”

Cherry looks to Arc. “After the power matter is sorted out, we might want to look for a more permanent source of food.”

Arc heads for the door. “Agreed. But for now, let’s get started with what we have. Supper tonight and get everyone inside Light’s Hope.”

They leave the office and head down the corridor together. Arc stops at his room and opens the door as Cherry calls out to him.

“Would you like me to call you for supper later, sir?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, thank you. I think I’m just going to go to bed.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“More tired than anything else. But I’ll be sure to get some breakfast before heading out in the morning.”

Cherry smiles at him. “Alright. Pleasant dreams, sir.”

“Thank you. Good night.”

Closing the door behind him, Arc sits down heavily on his couch. Looking out the window, he spies Tempest, Spitfire, and Cherry outside talking to the others residents whom are looking over the base from exterior. Cherry calls out to him.

“That went well.”

Arc sighs. “Kinda.”

“You’re unhappy with how it went?”

Arc shakes his head. “Not exactly. But remember, I was trying to retire from this sort of thing. And now I have to save Equestria… again.”

“No one else can though, Arc!”

Arc nods as he watches the others follow Cherry toward the base. “I know that, Cherry. And that’s the only reason I agreed to do this. Because all the other leaders are gone it seems.”

“Maybe you can find them out there.”

“I sure hope so. After all, even I can’t do everything by myself. We’re going to need some help to fix a mess this size. And lots of it too.”

“You’ll find it. After all, you did back in our Equestria.”

Arc stands and heads for the bedroom door. “Yeah. But that’s assuming they’re all still alive.”

“There weren’t that many survivors out there, I admit. However, who’s to say they aren’t hiding out elsewhere in the country?”

Arc shrugs as he recalls his armor and lies down on the bed. “From the way they described, it sounds like whatever happened did so very quickly.”

“What do you suppose happened anyways?”

“The theory of the return of Nightmare Moon returning makes the most sense. What with the threat of eternal night literally staring us in the face.”

“So the ultimate plan is to do what exactly?”

“Break into Canterlot when the time is right and challenge her.”

Cherry gasps. “But that’s Princess Luna you’re talking about!”

“I know.”

“You can’t kill her though!”

Arc sighs. “I’ll try reasoning with her, of course. But if that fails…”

Cherry groans. “You’ll do what, Arc?!”

“What every Hero of Light is expected to do. Protect Equestria from an out of control alicorn princess.”

“What about using the Elements of Harmony on her then?! She could still be saved!”

“That may be an option, yes. But at the same time we don’t actually know where Twilight and the others are or where their respective Elements ended up.”

“Tempest and Spitfire may be able to find out. After all, they’re supposed to be very good at what they do.”

“Worth a shot. I’ll bring it up at breakfast tomorrow.”

“With luck, they’ll be able to do their duty and help save Equestria.”

Arc frowns as he rolls over onto his side. “And at the same time, Nightmare Moon would have known that they were the only one’s whom could stop her. That would have made them top priority to her.”

“All we can do at this point is hope that they’re well-hidden then.”

“Yeah. And that they can just lay low until we figure out a way to reach out to them.”

“I’ll keep thinking of ideas that you could pass on to the others and the other me.”

Arc chuckles. “It sounds strange hearing you talking about yourself.”

Cherry groans. “Imagine seeing yourself too.”

“Point taken.”

“But like you said earlier, you really need to rest now, Arc. We can do something about all of this in the morning. Well… when morning is supposed to be, that is.”

Arc sighs. “Yes, I suppose so. However… I… you know…”

“What it is, Arc?”

“Right now I just feel so… so lonely.”

“I won’t leave you.”

Arc smiles sadly. “I know you won’t, Cherry. But what I meant was lonely in terms of my fiancées.”

“They’re probably fine back in our Equestria, you know.”

“Yeah. But I miss having them around. Ever since I’ve retired, I haven’t had a single night alone. From Twilight to Applejack to Rarity and even Derpy, Dinky, and Scootaloo… I’ve been with someone at all times.”

“And now you feel alone.”

“Sorry.”

Cherry sounds confused. “You’re sorry?”

“For dumping this on you. It’s not your fault I’m feeling this way.”

“And it’s not your fault either. But let’s just focus on finding other survivors and getting the power back on around here before we start searching for the others.”

Arc smirks. “Yes, general.”

Cherry giggles. “Good night, Arc.”

“Good night, Cherry.”

Closing his eyes, Arc falls fast asleep.