The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

Chapter 12 - Deep Dives

The elevator doors open to Shining Armor’s office. Arc, Sunset Shimmer, and Daring Do step out together and approach the mayor whom is pacing in front of the desk. He looks to them nervously as they near.

“Is it… done?”

Arc nods. “Yes, it is. The prisoners were transported to my base for food, showers, and a good rest.”

Sunset Shimmer nods toward the window. “And the traitorous guards have been brought to the Manehattan prison for interrogation and detainment.”

Daring Do frowns. “All except their so-called leader, Applejack. That screaming banshee is restrained at the hospital.”

Shining Armor gasps. “What?!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest plate. “She was the one leading the soldiers there.”

Shining Armor puts a hoof to his forehead. “But… but that doesn’t make any sense! Why would she of all ponies do such a thing?!”

Sunset Shimmer shrugs. “When we found her, she accused US of being traitors to the princesses.”

Daring Do shudders. “It was almost a religious fervor she went into when going after us.”

Arc sighs. “The look in her eyes said that she believed herself to be doing the right thing too. That’s the part which worries me the most.”

Shining Armor appears hopeful. “Will she be alright though?!”

Arc nods. “I don’t see why not. After all, I just tranquilized her.”

Shining Armor sits down heavily on the floor. “That’s good! I don’t think my little sister would have taken her death lightly.”

Daring Do stomps the floor with a hoof angrily. “Applejack has clearly taken Canterlot’s side in this matter though! So she’s a traitor to us and the rest of the citizenry!”

Sunset Shimmer nods soberly. “That is true. There was absolutely no negotiating with her back there.”

Shining Armor groans. “That doesn’t make any sense though. She’s supposed to be the Element of Honesty.”

Daring Do points to Arc’s shoulder. “She must have seen the Hero of Light’s crest though, so she knew whom he was.”

Shining Armor sighs. “I’ll… have to order her transferred to the prison section of the hospital then.”

Arc walks over to the window and looks outside. “That’s… probably for the best right now. In her current mental state, she could hurt the normal hospital staff.”

Sunset Shimmer frowns. “But that leaves us with a bigger problem.”

Daring Do bows her head. “Where do we go from here?”

Shining Armor walks over to his desk. “Admittedly, I was hoping Applejack could tell us where the rest of her friends are currently in hiding. And where her Element presently is too, of course.”

Arc shrugs. “I don’t think she’ll be helping us anytime soon though.”

Sunset Shimmer grunts. “Not without major mental reconditioning and a lot of therapy, that is.”

Daring Do turns to the mare, confused. “What are you saying? That she was being controlled?”

“It is possible, yes. After all, for somepony to change so drastically in such a short amount of time isn’t exactly what I would call ‘normal’ by any stretch of the imagination.”

Shining Armor looks to Sunset Shimmer. “How would we go about returning her to her regular self then?”

Sunset Shimmer shrugs. “That would depend on the method used to control her. The medical staff would have to run a bunch of tests to determine what to do going forward.”

Daring Do sighs. “So again, where does that leave us then?”

Shining Armor groans. “Back at square one at the moment, it would seem.”

Arc turns from his place at the window. “Not exactly. While we were there, we rescued a number of ponies whom were being used as slave labor and liberated Applejack from her service to Canterlot. So I’d say that we’re still better off now than we were before this mission.

Daring Do rolls her eyes. “And her warped view of the princesses.”

Sunset Shimmer bows her head. “That too. However, somewhere in her mind is the information we need to take the next step in finding the other Element Bearers.”

Shining Armor puts a hoof on a stack of papers. “I’ll keep on trying to find leads on them, of course.”

Arc nods. “Good. Now then, can I assume that you were satisfied with my performance, Mister Mayor?”

Shining Armor appears confused. “Performance, sir?”

Arc chuckles. “I know this was all a setup.”

Sunset Shimmer raises an eyebrow. “But why would we have…?”

Arc interrupts her. “To see if I could be trusted. I accepted the task you gave to me of taking out that outpost as well as rescuing Applejack. All that without asking for any kind of kickbacks or special consideration. Not something that’s common in this world at the moment I would imagine.”

Shining Armor nods soberly. “You’re right. But if I may be so bold, how did you figure it out?”

“It was actually pretty simple. For starters, this city appears to have more than enough standing forces to take on such a small outpost easily.”

Daring Do frowns. “But rescuing the Element Bearer was an important task!”

“Right. And at the same time, you couldn’t have been sure that I would have taken her alive. Which is why you and Sunset Shimmer were poised to take her on yourselves before I stepped forward.”

Sunset Shimmer sighs. “To be completely honest with you, we were just as surprised as you were to find out that she was leading the efforts at the base.”

Shining Armor nods soberly. “And that’s the truth of the matter, sir.”

“I believe you. After all, you really did hedge your bets on that last point.”

Daring Do tilts her head to one side, confused. “Hedge… what now?”

Arc turns to her. “I saw that you and Sunset Shimmer were constantly poised to attack me if I went too far with Applejack. The whole time I could feel you watching me every moment back there.”

Sunset Shimmer sighs. “Like you said, it was an important mission, naturally. But we needed to know for certain if the Lunar Rebellion, and by proxy it’s mysterious new benefactor, could truly be trusted with matters of such grave importance.”

Shining Armor nods. “I know that the rest of the Element Bearers are still out there somewhere. We’ll need the best of the best to get to them once located.”

Daring Do shrugs. “And as capable as Sunset Shimmer and I are, it’s just the two of us.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest plate. “Yes, well… if you find something please notify the Lunar Rebellion at once. You have my word that I’ll drop everything to come and aid in their rescue.”

Shining Armor smiles nervously. “Thank you, sir. In truth, I was hoping you would say that. And I shall be sure to inform you of any new developments regarding this matter. Please keep whatever intel I send your way to yourself though, as we’re trying to keep this circle as small as possible.”

Arc nods. “That’s understandable. However, I will have to tell the leadership of the Lunar Rebellion what we did out there today.”

Daring Do sighs. “We did kinda leave them out there to clean up the mess that we made.”

Sunset Shimmer shrugs. “It’s only natural for them to ask questions. But please, for the sake of the nation as a whole, please keep this information as limited as possible.”

“I will. “

Shining Armor gestures to the two mares as he speaks. “Good. Now then, I’d like to assign my two best agents to you for the time being.”

Sunset Shimmer appears confused. “You want us to join the Lunar Resistance, Mayor Shining Armor?”

Daring Do grins as she shadowboxes. “Sounds good to me! I like the direct approach, after all!”

Shining Armor nods. “Yes, the Hero of Light will need your help when the time comes. That and I’m sure he has numerous other tasks to take care of. Many hooves make light work, as they say.”

Sunset Shimmer looks to Arc. “If you’ll have us, we’d be honored to accompany you back to your base, sir.”

Arc nods. “Sure. I’ll inform the general, or ‘mayor’ as she prefers to be called, that you two will be joining us.”

Daring Do rushes to the elevator. “Alright! We’ll get packed!”

Sunset Shimmer walks over to join her companion. “Yes, where shall we meet you though?”

“How about in front of the building in two hours?”

Daring Do nods as the elevator doors open. “We’ll be here!”

The mares step into the elevator as Arc looks to Shining Armor.

“I don’t suppose you have any more leads?”

Shining Armor sighs as he shakes his head. “Sadly, no. I’ve got agents scouring the land though as well as a few sages attempting to find them via scrying. But as of yet they haven’t turned up anything of note.”

Arc shrugs. “Not much more you can do then, I would imagine.”

Sighing, he looks to the elevator before continuing.

“I… think I’ll head over to the hospital and see if there’s any word on Applejack’s condition.”

Shining Armor nods soberly. “While I told them to notify me if such a thing happened, I’m sure she’d appreciate the gesture. Subconsciously, of course.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Leaving the office, Arc takes the elevator down to the ground floor. As he does so Cherry calls out to him telepathically.

“That wasn’t exactly the best outcome.”

Arc leans against the wall. “Yeah. I was hoping we would just find her locked in a cell, or something.”

“I still don’t understand why Applejack would have taken Canterlot’s side in this though. And holding innocent ponies prisoner as well!”

“It doesn’t make any sense to me either. I mean… something like that is just so… so unlike her!”

“To say nothing for her Element.”

Arc groans. “The only thing I can think of is that she actually believed that she was doing the right thing back there.”

“Not sure how she would have been able to justify something like that in her mind.”

Arc stands up straight as the elevator slows. “Hopefully she can tell us in her own words soon enough.”

The doors open and Arc steps out. Making his way back outside to the street, he gets directions from a nearby guard on how to get to the hospital. Entering the waiting room, Arc walks up to the front desk and looks to the nurse going over a stack of papers.

“Excuse me. I’m here to inquire about a mare whom was recently brought here. Her name is ‘Applejack’.”

The nurse does not look up from her work. “We cannot release information on patients without either permission from them, their family, or an official legal order.”

Arc chuckles. “I believe I have the third thing.”

Sighing, the nurse holds out a hoof. “Papers, please.”

Arc puts a gauntlet on the paper which the nurse is working on. “How’s this?”

She looks at his hand for a moment before following it with her eyes up to his face. Her eyes wide, she quickly stands.

“I-I’m sorry, sir!”

Arc chuckles. “It’s fine. I know that the doctors probably haven’t had much time with her, but I’m hoping something’s been figured out by this point.”

“The doctor overseeing her case is currently in the patient’s room. Shall I page him for you, sir?”

Arc shakes his head. “No. I’ll speak to him in the patient’s room. Please have me escorted there.”

The nurse waves over an orderly. “Right away!”

She quickly explains the situation to the orderly whom shows Arc the way. Motioning to the room in question with a wave of his hoof, the young man thanks the stallion and pushes open the door. He spies a stallion in a white coat going over a chart next to the bed. Walking over to him, Arc speaks.

“Good day, Doctor Horse.”

Doctor Horse looks up, confused. “I’m sorry, but do I…?”

Spotting the Crest of Light on Arc’s armor, as well as the large creature itself a few moments later, the doctor stops talking and instinctively takes a step back. Arc recalls his armor and slowly approaches the bed.

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to alarm you, doctor.”

“It was just a bit… startling really.”

Arc gestures to Applejack lying on the bed. “How is she doing?”

“I, um… just had to sedate her.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “But she was already sedated when they brought her in.”

“Are you certain, sir?”

Arc nods. “Yes. I administered the injection myself. Did something happen?”

Doctor Horse sighs. “The patient awoke a short time ago and tried to escape.”

“Anyone hurt?”

“Nothing serious. A few orderlies were thrown into walls and furniture as she ran away. Fortunately, the two mares whom brought her here were still talking to the nurse at the front desk. They were able to overpower her long enough for me to sedate her again.”

Arc frowns as he looks to Applejack. “Did she say anything?”

Doctor Horse shrugs. “Just that we were impeding her mission for Canterlot and would be punished accordingly.”

Arc sighs. “Yeah, I was afraid of that. Applejack said as much when her and I spoke earlier.”

The doctor looks to his clipboard. “In my initial examination, I was unable to find any physical injuries anywhere on her body. However, her vitals are a bit… off.”

“Define ‘off’.”

“They’re a bit higher than they should be.”

Arc looks to the bed. “Could that be how she burned through the sedative I gave her?”

“Most likely, yes.”

The doctor taps an IV bottle next to the bed before continuing.

“Which is why I switched the patient over to this steady drip version in an effort to keep her under this time.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “But what could be causing her vitals to be ‘off’ as you put it?”

Doctor Horse sighs. “It’s still too early to tell, I’m afraid. I’ve ordered a number of further tests in addition to blood work to try and sort this out.”

Arc looks to the bed again. “Is there anything else we can do for her?”

“Sadly, not at this time, no. But you have my word that we will do all we can for her.”

“Good. Equestria needs Applejack. And so do…”

His voice trails off before Arc turns, calls forth his gauntlet, opens a portal, and quickly leaves through it. Reappearing in his quarters and closing the portal behind him, Arc sits down on the couch heavily and sighs. Cherry calls out to him as he sits there silently.

“Arc? What just happened?”

“I just… “

Moving his hand with his mouth open, Arc gestures but is unable to put his thoughts into words for a few moments.

“Applejack, she… you know.”

Cherry sighs. “No, I honestly don’t understand what it is that you’re getting at.”

Arc puts a hand to his forehead. “I just… I couldn’t take seeing her lying there like that. Especially after she took Canterlot’s side in this mess.”

“But that’s not the Applejack you know. Perhaps this world’s version is slightly different than ours.”

“Maybe. And I do understand that she’s not the mare I fell in love with. However…”

Cherry interrupts him. “Are you developing feelings for her, Arc?”

“Not exactly. It’s more along the lines of being… torn on how I should be feeling. Confused, I suppose. While I do understand that she’s a completely different mare, the fact that she has the same looks, voice, and presumably every other aspect of our Applejack is just something that I’m not comfortable with.”

“You didn’t appear to have any problems being reintroduced to the other ponies that you’ve met back home. At least not that I could see.”

Arc sighs. “True. But as you know, Applejack, she… she’s special to me.”

“Yes, I know she is, Arc. As are Twilight and Rarity, whom we have yet to find in this alternate land. But at the same time you need to remember that they’re not the mares you fell in love with. Now I’m not saying that such a fact makes them any less important as individuals. However, you can’t let that cloud your judgment. Especially right now.”

Arc lays down on a throw pillow and groans. “I know you’re right, Cherry. But this whole thing has my brain in knots right now.”

“Why don’t you take a nap then, Arc? Try to clear your head a bit and rest.”

“That does sound good, yes. But…”

Cherry interrupts him. “But you still feel like you should be doing something, right?”

Arc groans. “Took the words right out of my mouth.”

“And right now there isn’t really anything you CAN do.”

“I suppose I could help out in the greenhouse. Or do a bit of work on the construction of the new ones.”

Cherry sighs. “And burn yourself out even further in the process.”

“Well, this feeling of powerlessness isn’t helping my mental health right now, Cherry.”

“We both know that you’ll just work yourself to exhaustion though, Arc. You need to take the opportunity to rest when it presents itself.”

Arc puts an arm over his eyes. “Yeah, I know. But I think I’ll do it a bit differently than suggested.”

Closing his eyes, Arc falls asleep. Opening them, he sits up to see himself lying in the middle of Sweet Apple Acres. Standing, he dusts himself off and concentrates. Cherry materializes in front of him in her pony form. Looking around for a few moments, she turns to Arc and shakes her head.

“All things considered, this might not be the best surroundings for you right now, Arc.”

Arc pats a nearby tree. “Yeah, well… I just wanted to see something familiar to me.”

Reaching up into the leaves with a hand, he pulls down two apples. Giving one to Cherry, Arc raises his own to her before they both take a bite. Sighing contentedly, he turns and gestures to the orchards before continuing.

“Nothing quite like it.”

Cherry nods as she swallows. “Agreed. Applejack’s orchard is certainly the best in the business.”

Arc looks to the farmhouse. “They do keep things up nicely too.”

“You miss them, don’t you?”

Arc smiles wistfully. “Very much so, yes. I mean, I think that the only thing keeping me sane right now is the knowledge that they’re safe back in our… home dimension, or whatever.”

“But at the same time, we can’t really just leave this land’s inhabitants to their fate.”

“Right. That and we’ll need their resources in order to find a way back again.”

“A spell or magical device of some kind?”

Arc shrugs. “Whatever it takes to get home again, yes.”

“After we fix things for them though.”

Arc sighs as he materializes a waste bin nearby. “I don’t think it can be.”

Cherry appears confused as they drop the apple cores into the bin. “How so?”

“Think about it, Cherry. So many ponies have gone missing since Canterlot cut itself off. I mean, large chunks of the population of Ponyville are completely unaccounted for. Doctor Horse is one of the first one from there that I’ve seen since we arrived.”

“I see what you mean. At this point, normalcy might no longer be an option for everypony.”

Arc turns and looks toward the town. “The best I can do at this point is to liberate the country from Canterlot’s rule. After that, the road to the land’s recovery will be both long and winding. It’s going to take at least a couple generations to put this behind them.”

Cherry inhales deeply. “I’ll try to come up with some ideas on how we might speed that process up.”

“That would be appreciated. And… sorry.”

Cherry appears confused. “Whatever for?”

“For getting you wrapped up in this mess.”

Cherry puts a hoof on Arc’s side. “I don’t think either of us could have foreseen such an event taking place during a tea time with Twilight at her new library though, Arc.”

“Well, I still feel responsible for it. After all, it does sometimes seem like I attract misfortune like a magnet.”

“While other times you bring about solutions that nopony else could have though.”

Arc shrugs. “The good with the bad.”

“This world’s Applejack is safely at the hospital now though, thanks to you. So I’d say we’re moving in the right direction.”

“If she can tell us where to find the others, yes.”

Cherry grimaces. “And if she can’t?”

Arc sighs. “Then this is going to be a LONG stay.”

“Which also isn’t your fault in the least, I must point out.”

Arc walks toward the farmhouse. “I know, I know. But that means that we’ll be away from our friends for that much longer.”

Cherry follows Arc up the steps and over to the screen door. He opens it to a loud squeak and steps inside. Smiling, he looks around the Living Room in an effort to take it all in. Leading Cherry into the kitchen, Arc sighs before continuing.

“I still remember the first day that I worked here at Sweet Apple Acres so long ago. The Apple family invited me to stay for a home cooked supper after a long, hard day’s work.”

“And you accepted, I would imagine.”

Arc nods. “Yeah. And while I can’t remember exactly what we had for dinner, I do know that it was delicious.”

Cherry giggles. “Knowing Applejack, I’m sure it was.”

“As we ate, they asked me a lot of questions about humans as we didn’t exactly have the best reputation in Equestria at the time. And I was Honest about which parts were true about my species. Both the good and the bad.”

“But they still accepted you for whom you are though, right?”

Arc nods. “Something Granny Smith said to me back then. She asked if I was guilty of any of those human stereotypes that had been listed earlier. And when I told her that I wasn’t personally no, she said that I couldn’t really be held accountable for what others did. Or something like that anyways.”

He runs a hand along the kitchen table and smiles wistfully.

“Up until that point, I had been kinda worried about what my future held in this land. But that evening’s conversation put my mind at ease.”

“I have noticed that you’re often trying to talk through matters.”

“It’s usually an attempt to fully understand the situation as a whole. Or try to get someone else to see my point of view.”

Cherry sits down at the table. “How do you think everypony else is feeling right now then?”

Arc sighs. “Anxious. Scared. Terrified even. I mean… their whole world has been turned upside down.”

“But not Applejack.”

Arc appears confused as he sits down across from Cherry. “What do you mean?”

“The look in her eyes back in that facility showed me that she wasn’t afraid of what was going on around her. If anything, she appeared focused and sure of herself.”

Arc frowns. “But Applejack would never enslave other ponies!”

“True. Ours certainly wouldn’t. However, what if she believed that doing so was the only way to save others?”

“Saving others?”

Cherry nods. “Think about it. They were supposedly processing food that had been foraged in the woods. And where was it going from there?”

“Probably back to Canterlot somehow.”

“Maybe. But the answer I was looking for was somepony’s belly. Since the sun no longer shines food has become scarcer. Perhaps the ponies we found were prisoners serving a sentence.”

“Maybe. However, we’ll know more when they’re interviewed by Spitfire and Tempest. For the time being though I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt.”

“Which is for the best. But we also need to give Applejack the same.”

“Even though it looks bad for her, yes.”

“With luck, and a bit of time, she can be brought around in order to give her side of the story.”

“Yeah.”

Looking out the window at the setting sun together, Cherry sighs and speaks.

“Arc?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think we’ll be able to find a way home again someday?”

Arc nods soberly. “We have to, Cherry. For our sakes as well as those back in Equestria.”

Sometime later Arc opens his eyes and sits up. Looking around for a few moments he does his best to get his bearings on his surroundings. Cherry calls out to him as he does so.

“We’re back in your room in Light’s Hope, Arc.”

Arc groans as he rubs his eyes. “Yeah, I know. It’s always a bit… strange to come back to reality though.”

The phone next to him rings. Picking up the receiver, Arc speaks into it.

“Yes?”

“Sir, I have a Doctor Horse on the line asking to speak to you.”

Arc quickly sits up. “Put him through at once!”

“Yes sir.”

The line goes dead for a few moments before they are connected.

“Sir, this is Doctor Horse from Manehattan General Hospital.”

“Good to hear from you, doctor. Has there been any news regarding Applejack’s condition?”

“A bit, yes. Those tests I ordered showed that her brain waves are very abnormal.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Does that have anything to do with her vitals being off?”

“I believe so, yes. And even though she’s unconscious, such readings are out of the ordinary even for a conscious mare.”

“What does that mean though?”

“That her body and mind are acting as if something major is out of alignment internally.”

“So where do we go from here, doctor?”

“This narrows the cause of her condition down to something wrong with the patient mentally, not physically. I’ve ordered more tests to be run on her brain in an effort to pinpoint the source of her ailment. However, when the staff were entering her room to begin the tests, another patient whom was being wheeled down the hall suddenly flatlined. The sound of the heart monitor caused her own brainwaves to suddenly go haywire.”

“Did it cause any problems?”

“She actually overpowered the sedatives and began calling out groggily for her family members from Ponyville. It took a second IV bottle to knock her out again. Which is something I personally have never seen in a patient of her size and stature before, sir.”

“What does it all mean though?”

Doctor Horse sighs. “That her conscious thoughts are being manipulated in some way.”

“So you’re saying that she was trying to return to normal?”

“It did seem so, yes. Under normal circumstances there are a number of drugs that could be used to bring her around slowly over time.”

“However you don’t have them, do you?”

“No, sir. Medicine is yet another very scarce commodity at this point in time.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“I’ve sent word to both Baltimare and Las Pegasus asking if they have the cacophony of drugs we need. But I must admit that it’s not likely they will.”

Arc groans. “And if they don’t?”

“Then all we can do is keep her warm, safe, and sedated until she’s able to come around naturally. While I’m sure this isn’t the news that you wanted, it is the truth.”

“Thank you for taking the time to notify me about this, doctor. How long will it take for you to hear back from the other cities?”

“Probably a day or two. Maybe longer though, given the current national circumstances. I’ll call you again with a final answer when I know more or if her condition changes in some way.”

“Very well. I’ll let you get back to work then.”

“We’ll do our best over here, sir.”

Grimacing, Arc sets the receiver back in the cradle and flops down on the couch to stare up at the ceiling. Silence fills the room for a time before Cherry calls out to him.

“Doctor Horse is very skilled at his job.”

“That he is.”

“After all, he’s the one whom saved my life a couple years ago.”

Arc groans. “But that was with a fully stocked hospital and all of his best staff by his side. Right now he’s working under very different circumstances. Lack of supplies and personnel can’t be helping right now, after all.”

“What more could be done though? I mean, if there were any other options in which Applejack could have come back to us I’m sure he’d have at least mentioned them.”

“Yes, I’m sure that Doctor Horse would have…”

Arc’s voice trails off as he appears to be thinking. Tapping his finger on the side of his chin, Arc mutters to himself.

“In lieu of no medicine, she’d have to come around naturally.”

“But how though, Arc?”

“Sanguine Azolla?”

“Sanguine… what now?”

“It’s a rare plant that does strange things to a pony, or human’s, mind.”

Cherry gasps. “You think that Applejack has been poisoned by this plant?!”

Arc shakes his head. “It’s not likely, no. First of all, that particular plant is very rare. That and I’m sure the doctor didn’t find any traces of it in her bloodwork. The last time this matter came up it was detected as an impurity in the blood of both Luna and Cadance.”

“So how does that have anything to do with what’s wrong with Applejack?”

“Back then, I was able to delve into the minds of the afflicted princesses with the help of a very special enchantment on Princess Celestia’s bed. It allowed me to communicate with their consciousnesses directly in the dream world. At least that’s the best way I can think of to describe it.”

Cherry sighs. “But we can’t exactly go to Canterlot to use that particular bed at this point.”

“True. However, I’m guessing that there are probably other ways to enter Applejack’s mind.”

“You mean by some kind of magical means?”

Arc stands. “It’s worth looking into.”

Heading for the door, Arc leaves his room and heads down the corridor. Approaching Auriel’s room, he knocks lightly and waits. A few moments later Brightwing opens it and giggles happily at the sight before her.

“Friend has come to visit, Brightwing! Hooray!”

Arc chuckles. “Kinda. Is Auriel around?”

Brightwing nods happily. “Yes, yes! Come in, friend!”

Fluttering to the side, she allows Arc to enter the room. As the little creature closes the door behind him dutifully, he spies Auriel at a small desk in the corner. Innumerable books, tools, devices, and other items Arc cannot identify litter the room. Walking over to the young demoness with Brightwing by his side, she lands on Auriel’s head and cries out happily.

“Friend has come for a visit!”

Auriel looks up, clearly confused. “Huh?”

Looking down into Auriel’s face, Brightwing points a small claw to her left. Auriel turns her head to see Arc standing there. Quickly standing up, she accidently knocks Brightwing down her back to flutter away.

“Sir! I, um… forgive me for not noticing you earlier!”

Turning to Brightwing, she groans.

“Why didn’t you tell me that we had company, mother?!”

Brightwing shrugs. “Brightwing tried to tell friend several times! But friend didn’t respond!”

Auriel sighs as she returns her gaze to Arc.

“My apologies, sir.”

“It’s fine. I’m guessing you were just really deep in thought.”

Auriel looks to the desk and nods. “Yes, I spent all afternoon yesterday taking various readings from mother here.”

Brightwing giggles. “That was fun! Brightwing liked playing that game!”

“And now I’m trying to work through the results from those tests.”

Arc gestures to the equipment. “To that end, do you need anything else?”

Auriel shakes her head. “Special Agent Tempest had some of her forces go back down to the Golden Oaks Library. They brought back all the materials and implements I needed in addition to a list of books I asked for.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Auriel holds out her elbow to allow Brightwing to land on her shoulder and rest her paws on her head. “It’s going to take a long time to figure this mess out. Years even. But I’m confident that I can one day return my mother to her original form.”

“And we’ll do what we can to help in that.”

Brightwing giggles. “Brightwing still not understand what pretty lady means by that!”

Auriel scratches the small creature behind the ears. “I’m just trying to help you go back to normal.”

Arc nods. “Very praiseworthy. However, at the moment I was wondering if you could advise me on a certain matter that has come up recently.

Auriel appears surprised. “Me advise you?”

Brightwing laughs heartily as she again takes flight. “Good idea! Pretty lady really smart!”

“You see, I recently took into custody a mare whom has undergone a very strange mental realignment. In the past she always tried to help out others whenever she could. But now she’s taken Canterlot’s side and was found to have kidnapped a number of ponies. She then forced them to do work for her.”

Auriel gasps. “Oh my! That sounds terrible! How can I help?!”

“Doctor Horse, the physician looking after her right now, said that there were some very strange brainwaves in her test results. Something like this came up a couple years ago in two other patients that I saw. The difference between the two cases were that they were unconscious and unable to be awakened. However, I was able to more or less delve into their minds via a special enchantment on a bed in order to speak to them.”

Auriel puts a claw to her cheek thoughtfully. “And you’re wondering if I know some other way for you to enter another’s mind?”

Arc nods. “I know that this is a long shot, yes. But I don’t have access to the a fore mentioned bed or anyone whom knows anything about the case in question.”

Auriel walks over to one of her piles of books. “Well… there are spells that allow for a magic user to be able to speak directly to another’s mind. However, they all involve a very high level of mental domination.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “You’re talking about more or less mind controlling them?”

Brightwing gasps. “Oh, scary!”

Auriel nods. “Exactly. That and such high-level Dark Magic is very difficult to cast correctly. Moreso than I’m capable of doing personally.”

Arc grimaces. “And if done incorrectly it would do damage to the subject’s mind?”

Auriel groans. “You’ve got it. My father employed such methods to determine the truth when all other matters had been exhausted. That and when he didn’t care if the subjects lived or died.”

Arc frowns. “We can’t risk that on Applejack though.”

Auriel shrugs. “It wouldn’t really be an option though even if you wanted to, as it requires someone very powerful in the dark artes to cast such a thing anyways.”

Arc sighs. “Great. Now we’re right back to square one.”

Auriel picks up a book. “Not exactly. There is another option that might be more prudent thought due to it being much safer.”

“Tell me about it.”

“When I was younger, I was reading a book from my father’s library regarding the ancient history of the Great Demon Kingdom’s customs. It was said that the powerful among us would pay to undergo a procedure known as ‘mental exploration’.”

“Mental exploration?”

Brightwing grins as she licks her lips. “Is that edible?!”

Auriel shakes her head. “No, little one. It was a process by which one could enter another’s consciousness.”

Brightwing tilts her head to one side, confused. “Enter… what now?!”

Arc appears hopeful. “What does it entail?”

“First, both parties would imbibe a special elixir to attune their psyches and make the process smoother. Then, as the pair laid near one another, their minds would naturally become one.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “And this was used for what exactly?”

“Mostly as a way to deepen trust between two demons. A couple whom wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Or to test the loyalty of a soldier’s dedication to their military commander. There were a number of various examples recorded in the book, of course. But those two were the only ones I remember off the top of my head.”

“And the risk to the subjects in the event of failure?”

“Negligible. A mild headache at worst for both parties.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin. “So to do such a thing we’d need two of those elixirs.”

Auriel bows her head. “And I’m not exactly able to mix up such a thing.”

“Yes, well… we’d still need the recipe for the elixir though in addition to details on how to make it. So I guess that would require a trip back to Tartarus to retrieve the book.”

Auriel walks over to a nearby shelf. “No need for that. It was one of the books I brought with me when we left.”

Scanning the shelf for a few moments, Auriel eventually pulls a large tome from it and flips through the pages. Stopping, she points a claw at a certain page and continues.

“Here we are! The part about the procedure!”

Arc walks over to her. “Can I see it?”

“Sure!”

Handing the book over, Auriel looks over Arc’s shoulder as they both read. Eventually, Arc speaks.

“This sounds pretty good on paper. Safe and very similar to the effects of the bed enchantment.”

Auriel nods. “That it does.”

Brightwing crosses her eyes and looks away. “Brightwing not understand this at all!”

Auriel looks to Arc. “It’s certainly a very interesting part of my culture, to be sure.”

Arc sighs. “Now all we need to do is figure out how to go about acquiring the reagents in order to make these elixirs.”

Auriel points to a passage. “That shouldn’t be too hard to do. The ingredients listed here aren’t exactly what I would call rare. At least they aren’t back in Tartarus.”

“Do you think Esther could do it?”

Auriel nods. “Most likely, yes. After all, you did bring her entire shop with us.”

Arc closes the book. “I’ll head over there and talk to her about it then. Mind if I borrow this book for a while?”

“Go right ahead. After all, I’m currently borrowing quite a few books from the Golden Oaks Library. So it’s only fair that I be willing to do the same with my own.”

“Thank you. I’ll bring it back when I’m done.”

Auriel nods as she walks Arc to the door. “Just let me know if I can be of further help in this matter.”

Brightwing waves a claw happily as she lands on Auriel’s head again. “Good luck, friend!”

Leaving the room, Arc heads for the Main Hall and exits the building. Walking toward Esther’s small shop next door, he pushes the door open and calls out.

“Esther? Are you here?”

A few moments later the young demoness steps out from behind the curtain and approaches the counter with Rebme in her arms. Smiling at him as she sets the young demon down, Esther speaks.

“Yes sir. What can I do for you?”

“I need some advice on a certain alchemical matter.”

Laying the book on the counter, Arc points to the page in question as Esther sets Rebme down next to it. The small demon looks over the page and frowns.

“No pictures!”

Esther smiles at her daughter. “These kinds of tomes don’t generally have pictures, dear.”

Arc pulls a small book from his ring. “This one does though.”

Holding it out to Rebme, she takes it and looks it over before speaking.

“What is it?”

“A book for foals that I picked up at Barnyard Bargains in Ponyville.”

Rebme opens the book. “Lots of pictures in here!”

Esther nods. “Yes. Something like that must be very expensive.”

Arc shrugs. “A few bits actually.”

Esther gasps. “What?! How can they be made so cheaply?!”

“Books like this are mass produced via a machine called a ‘printing press’.”

“Amazing! Back in the city, books had to be written out by claw!”

Arc nods as he points to the page in the larger tome again. “Like this one was?”

“Yes sir! Forgive me to taking attention away from your request!”

Arc chuckles. “It’s fine. I’m just looking to recreate a method used by the demons of old to delve into the mind of a pony mare. Would that be possible?”

Esther scans the page. “I don’t see why not. Assuming the subject is in decent enough shape, that is.”

“What do you mean?”

“If they’re sick or have some kind of chronic disease this process may weaken them. It’s very physically demanding on the subject, after all.”

“It is?”

“Well, I suppose that wasn’t the best way to put it. Back in Tartarus, if this method was employed then they were going to get to the bottom of the matter no matter what. The health of the subject was secondary to success.”

“Any way to make it less dangerous?”

“Just instruct whomever is doing the delving to go slow and not push the subject too hard with their methodology.”

“So just be patient with them?”

Esther nods. “Exactly. So should I mix up two pony sized portions of this potion for you?”

“Only the subject is a pony. I’ll be delving into their mind personally. Would that be problematic?”

Esther looks over the writing as she speaks. “Let’s see…”

Flipping the pages, she points to a paragraph before continuing.

“Here we are. Instructions on how to create an oversized dose.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “The what now?”

“As you probably already know, demons come in different sizes. The standard dosing is for a standard size demon, which is roughly what most are. They also record recipes for oversized and undersized demons as well as math formulas for precise sizing as needed.”

“So which one would I be?”

Esther looks him over. “Oversized due to your warrior’s strength. If you’d like I can use your weight to check though.”

Arc nods. “Sure. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.”

Gesturing to a scale in the corner of the room, Esther watches as Arc steps on. She adjusts a number of sliders on top before writing down the results and returning to the counter. Picking up a pencil, she gets to work doing the calculations longhand. As she works Arc points to the book in Rebme’s claws.

“That’s a cow.”

“What’s it does?”

“Makes milk.”

Rebme looks to him, confused. “Milk?”

Arc nods. “It’s a white liquid that the cow feeds to its calves. They’re baby cows.”

“Are they big?”

“Bigger than a pony when fully grown, yes.”

Rebme looks out the window. “Are there any around here?”

Arc shakes his head. “Sadly, no. But then again, that’s probably for the best.”

“Why?”

“Because they eat grass, and we don’t have any of that up here.”

Rebme giggles. “Grass is that funny plant that covers the ground, right?”

Arc nods. “Yes. It’s food for a number of creatures.”

“I’d like to see a cow someday.”

Arc smiles at her. “One day when the sun shines again you might just get your wish.”

Esther looks up from her paper. “It looks like you are in the oversized demon category, sir.”

“Will that be a problem?”

Esther shakes her head. “No, sir. I’ll just have to compensate and make it stronger for you.”

Arc gestures to the racks of reagents behind the counter. “And do you have everything you need to make these elixirs?”

“Yes sir. I can make them whenever you need.”

“How long would it take?”

“About ten minutes for each.”

“Good. I’ll go tell the others of my plans and come back in about half an hour. Would that work for you?”

Esther nods as she picks up Rebme. “Yes sir. Just let me put my little one down for her nap first.”

Rebme pouts. “Aw… but I wanna look at my picture book more!”

“You can do that in your cot. Now come along.”

Rebme grumbles as she is led into the back room by her mother. Arc chuckles as he turns to leave. Cherry calls out to him telepathically as he makes his way back toward the base.

“Aren’t you rushing things here, Arc?”

“I don’t think so, no.”

“You don’t know how safe this will be!”

“Both Auriel and Esther said it will be fine.”

“And they don’t know how humans work inside either!”

Arc shrugs. “We’re pretty similar internally I’m told.”

“I still think that you should have more research done on this before…!”

Arc interrupts her. “And while that’s being done Applejack will lie in that hospital bed, alone.”

Cherry sighs. “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?”

“Nope. She may not be the same mare I fell in love with. But that’s still Applejack who needs my help. That and we really do need to get the ball rolling on finding the Element Bearers along with their respective Elements.”

Arc suddenly stops walking and groans. Cherry calls out to him.

“Is something wrong, Arc?”

“Kinda. I… might have forgotten something.”

“What though?”

“Sunset Shimmer and Daring Do.”

Cherry gasps. “You were supposed to meet them ages ago!”

Arc opens a portal. “Guess we’d better get over there and pick them up then.”

Sometime later Arc walks down the hospital corridor with Doctor Horse, Cherry, and Tempest. The doctor turns to Arc as they reach Applejack’s room.

“Sir, I must again protest this particular medicinal practice.”

Tempest snorts. “Me too! After all, it’s demon alchemy!”

Cherry sighs. “I’m not too thrilled about this idea either.”

Arc turns to the doctor. “You said it yourself, doctor. This is a mental issue not a physical one.”

“But that doesn’t mean that we should just jump to…!”

Arc interrupts him. “Do you have another proven treatment option available, Doctor Horse?”

The doctor groans and shakes his head. Arc looks to the door and continues.

“Look, I’m not thrilled with this plan either. However, we need to act if we’re going to save Applejack and find the others.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “By using demon methods?!”

Cherry looks to Arc. “Are you absolutely sure this is safe?!”

Arc nods. “Yes. The demon apothecary, Esther, weighted me and tailored my dose to it.”

He holds out a piece of paper to the doctor before continuing.

“And here are dosage instructions for Applejack. I’m assuming we can get her weight from the chart in the room.”

Doctor Horse grimaces as he accepts the paper. “Yes… yes, we can.”

Arc turns to the door. “Then let’s get started.”

Opening it, Arc steps inside with the others. A second bed has been set up next to Applejack’s along with a number of additional instruments. Next to the bed a nurse stands silently waiting for directions. Doctor Horse walks over to the end of the bed and picks up the medical chart. After consulting it for a time, he does some figuring on a piece of paper before turning to Arc.

“I’ve determined the patient’s dose, sir.”

Arc recalls his armor and lies down on the empty bed. “Good. Are you ready to begin the procedure then?”

“First I’ll need to explain the process and ready you for it.”

He gestures to the devices around both beds before continuing.

“I’ll be monitoring the patient’s vitals the entire time, as well as yours.”

Nodding to the nurse, she picks up several wires and turns to Arc. He removes his shirt to allow them to be placed on his chest and temples. As the nurse finishes her task, the doctor turns on the machines and checks them.

“Everything appears to be running smoothly at the moment.”

Cherry grimaces. “So what happens now?”

Tempest motions to a vial on a nearby tray. “Yeah. Does the Hero of Light just kinda… drink it down?”

Doctor Horse nods as he holds out the vial to Arc. “Yes, that’s the first step.”

Arc takes the elixir and uncorks it. Downing the contents, he hands the now empty vessel to the nurse whom puts it back on the tray. Doctor Horse picks up a syringe with his magic as he walks over to Arc’s bedside.

“Now I’ll administer a sedative similar to what the patient is under.”

Cherry steps forward. “How long will the Hero of Light be out for?”

“About three hours, miss. He’ll be groggy after that, but otherwise fine.”

Tempest grunts. “Guess you should get started then.”

The doctor turns to look at Arc. He nods silently. Sighing, Doctor Horse puts the needle in Arc’s arm and depresses the plunger. Putting the spent syringe into the proper disposal receptacle, he turns back to Arc whom is already fading.

“Good luck, sir.”

As Arc loses consciousness, the doctor motions to the nurse.

“You watch his vitals while I take care of our patient.”

“Yes doctor.”

As she takes her place next to the machines, the doctor picks up the other vial. Uncorking it, he carefully measures out the proper amount before adding it to a bag of nutrient solution via a syringe. Putting it into another machine, he presses a button and turns to the others.

“I’ve just inserted the… medicine into the patient’s afternoon meal. It should be fully within her shortly.”

Tempest frowns. “Then what do we do?”

Cherry appears hopeful. “Yes, we can help if need be.”

Doctor Horse turns to face Applejack’s bed. “There’s nothing we can do now other than to watch over these two’s vital signs. With any luck, the Hero of Light will be successful in his task.”

Meanwhile, Arc opens his eyes and looks around. He is surrounded by darkness on all sides except for a small circle of light around his person which sadly doesn’t illuminate anything other than himself. Frowning, he sighs.

“This isn’t exactly what I was envisioning.”

Cherry calls out to him. “What now though?”

Arc puts a hand to his chin. “Well… worst case scenario, I can wait until the sedative wears off and wake back up in the hospital bed.”

“Sounds like that could take a while. At least according to what the doctor said earlier.”

Arc shrugs. “At least you can’t die from boredom. Not that I could anyways, seeing as you’re here with me.”

Cherry giggles. “We could always just talk.”

“What about?”

“Anything really.”

“How about…?”

He stops talking and looks all around before continuing.

“Did you hear that, Cherry?”

“Hear what?”

“It sounded like… arguing.”

Looking all around for a few moments, he spies a small beacon of light some distance away. Calling forth his armor, Arc runs towards it as best he is able, quickly reaching it. Before him stands a much younger filly-ish version of Applejack and a smaller (figuratively speaking) Big Macintosh. While unable to understand what they are saying, it’s clear that the pair are involved in a heated argument. Walking over to them, he speaks.

“Um… hey.”

The brother and sister ignore him completely and continue with their tirade. Arc waves a hand between them in an effort to get their attention to no avail. Frowning, he sighs and folds his arms over his chest.

“This is weird.”

Cherry sighs. “What did you expect?”

Arc shrugs. “I dunno. Something more akin to… the Applejack I’m used to.”

“Look at her though, Arc. She’s so young.”

“Guess we all start out that way.”

He kneels down to the foal’s level as he continues.

“But at the same time…”

Looking at the pair as they continue to fight, he sighs.

“…this just doesn’t seem like them either.”

“Agreed. Applejack’s always been so level headed. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her even raise her voice before. Much less get into such a heated argument.”

Arc gestures to the pair before him. “So… do we just… let them keep going, or what?”

Cherry groans. “I’m not sure what else we could do. After all, you’ve already tried getting their attention before to no avail.

“Well, let me try something else.”

Reaching out a hand, Arc touches Big Mac’s head. His hand passes right through as the foal turns into a mist and vanishes from sight. Applejack instinctively takes a step back as Arc comes into her field of vision.

“What the hay… are you?!”

“Oh! Um… my name is Arc. I’m the Hero of Light.”

Spotting the Crest of Light on his shoulder, Applejack appears conflicted as she speaks.

“Are you… really though?”

Arc nods. “Yup. Something wrong with that?”

“Not exactly. It’s just that you… uh… don’t really look like somepony who would have that particular job.”

“The armor makes me look kinda scary, I know.”

Recalling his armor, Arc continues.

“How’s this?”

Applejack raises an eyebrow. “What… are you?”

“A human.”

Applejack shakes her head. “But those ain’t real!”

“Yet here I am.”

Applejack sighs. “I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“That foal… your brother… what is it that you were arguing about?”

Applejack frowns. “Everything!”

“Could you maybe narrow it down a bit?”

“He’s always thinking that he should be in charge because he’s the oldest between us! Well, I have plenty of good ideas too, you know!”

“I’m sure you do.”

“One of us has to take over Sweet Apple Acres when we get older though! Granny Smith deserves to retire at some point, after all!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “And you two can’t work together?”

Applejack snorts. “That’s up to Big Mouth!”

Nodding toward another beacon of light in the distance, Applejack looks to Arc as she starts walking.

“Come on! I’ll show you!”

Making their way toward the light, they see another vision of Applejack and Big Macintosh. However, this time they are both adults. The mare points a hoof toward a pig pen as she speaks angrily.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Big Mac! There’s a right and a wrong way to do this!”

Big Mac shakes his head. “Nope.”

Applejack groans. “Look! I’ll show you one more time!”

She opens the gate to the pen a few inches before closing it again. Walking around to the other side of the pen, Applejack makes a funny face as she waves her hooves and sticks out her tongue. Returning to a spot about halfway to the gate, she stands on her hind legs and clucks like a chicken. Grabbing a rope in her mouth, Applejack runs into the barn and reappears on a large beam overlooking the pig pen. Tying one end of the rope to it, she attaches the other to her belly and swings out over the pen with a fishing pole. Dangling an ear of corn over the creatures, she uses it to lure the pigs into a stampede past their trough. The force of their hooves running past it causes a pail on the fencepost nearby to shake just enough to dump its contents into the trough. Seeing this, the pigs double back and begin to eat hungrily. Looking over her shoulder to Big Mac, she speaks.

“Got it this time?!”

Big Mac shakes his head as he walks away. “Nope.”

The filly next to Arc groans and bows her head as Arc kneels down to her level. Turning to him, she sighs.

“See? He wouldn’t take me seriously.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “But I don’t see how all of that was really necessary.”

“It is though!”

“Then talk me through it.”

Applejack walks over to the gate. “Alright then. First of all, the gate squeaks really bad. So I open and close it to show the pigs that it’s safe.

Arc frowns as she does so. “I don’t hear a squeak though.”

“It was fixed a long time ago. But the squeaking scared them and drove the pigs over to their shelter.”

Walking over to the other side of the pen, she puts her hooves up on the fence before continuing.

“That’s why I made those faces. To scare them into coming out again.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “And that worked?”

“Well… not so much now, since they got used to it.”

Taking a few steps, Applejack continues.

“The chicken dance was to show them that if they didn’t eat quick enough, the chickens would get to their food.”

Running up to the top of the barn, she calls down to Arc.

“And since I was a ‘chicken’, I couldn’t see myself opening the gate. So that’s where the corn and rope came in.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “And the bucket just happens to fall in?”

“That part was kind of an accident at first. Figured that one out when I left it there one day.”

“How does your brother do it?”

Applejack shrugs. “I dunno. But I’m sure he isn’t doing it the right way!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “You mean ‘your way’.”

“It comes to the same thing though!”

Arc sighs. “But why are you so insistent that it be done this way?”

“Because everything here on the farm needs to be done perfectly to keep things running smoothly.”

“I get the feeling that there’s more to it than simple methodology though.”

Applejack appears confused. “What do you mean? All I want is for it to be done the very best way.”

The filly vanishes into nothingness. Cherry gasps and calls out.

“Applejack?!”

Arc chuckles. “That was surprising.”

“What happened?!”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I’m guessing that she’s some kind of figment of the true Applejack’s imagination.”

“I guess that would make sense. After all, we are inside of Applejack’s consciousness. But wouldn’t that mean that every version of her we see would be just a thought?”

“Probably. But I get the feeling that the real Applejack, as in the one that everyone in this world knows, is in here somewhere.”

“So you’re saying that she’s been… suppressed, or something.”

Arc frowns as he begins walking. “Hopefully that’s all it is.”

Sometime later he comes to another beacon. A wooden door stands there silently. Taking a deep breath, Arc slowly pushes it open. A small room that looks as if it belongs to a young foal lies before him. A storm rumbles outside as raindrops pelt the window panes. Hearing something, Arc turns to see a small filly curled up in a corner of the room. Walking over to her, he kneels down and speaks softly.

“Applejack? What’s wrong?”

Applejack looks up at him sadly. “It’s my momma! Granny says that she’s really sick and took her to the hospital!”

Arc looks toward the window. “Out in a storm, huh?”

“Yeah. She must be really sick to leave in this! Mom didn’t look too good and I’m scared!”

“Are you worried that she…?”

Applejack interrupts him. “Granny says that the doctors at the hospital are the best! But she also says that everypony makes mistakes sometimes! So what if that happens?!”

“Well, ah… I’m sure they’ll do their very best to help her.”

Applejack turns to look at the wall. “I sure hope so. But as sick as my mom is, they’ll have to do everything perfectly.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully as the scene before him fades away. “Perfectly, huh?”

Cherry sighs. “I’m seeing a trend here.”

“As am I.”

Looking all around, Arc spies yet another light some distance away. As he walks towards it, he sighs.

“Let’s see if we can put this matter to rest.”

Reaching the beacon of light sometime later, Arc sees a fully grown Applejack sitting in front of a pair of tombstones and staring at them blankly. As he approaches, he hears her talking softly to herself.

“It should have been done right. It should have been done right. It should have been done right.”

Cherry calls out to Arc telepathically as he moves to stand next to Applejack. “Her parent’s graves?”

Arc nods. “It looks like it, yes.”

“She’s stuck saying the same thing over and over again though.”

Arc looks to the mare beside him. “Then this must be Applejack’s consciousness.”

“But how are we supposed to reach her? I mean, Applejack doesn’t seem to notice you at all.”

“I have an idea.”

“What’s that?”

“If this works like I’m guessing it does, the graves are the things that are, more or less, holding her consciousness prisoner.”

“So you’re saying that you should destroy them?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“It’s worth a try.”

Walking so as to stand between the pair of tombstones, Arc smacks them both with a fist. However, he quickly finds that they are akin to immovable objects. Rubbing his hand, Arc grimaces as he steps back.

“Ouch! Didn’t expect that to happen!”

Cherry gasps. “Are you alright, Arc?!”

“Yeah, just… not used to the idea of hitting something and not seeing it go flying.”

“So as it stands, we can’t destroy the tombstones. That leaves us with only one other option.”

Arc looks down to the mare before him. “Address Applejack directly.”

Kneeling down to her level, Arc takes a deep breath and speaks.

“Applejack?”