The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

Arc and Tempest reappear in the Main Hall of Light’s Hope. As the portal closes behind them, Spitfire looks over from her clipboard and calls out.

“You two alright?”

Arc nods as he holds up the Element of Honesty. “That we are. And mission accomplished as well.”

Spitfire gasps. “How did you…?!”

Tempest shrugs. “We just made a diversion in the opposite direction we were heading. It was ‘Infiltration 101’ all over again.”

Arc nods. “It was right where Applejack said it would be too.”

Spitfire sighs. “That’s good, I guess. Um… but that does leave us with a new problem.

Arc raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Spitfire gestures to the Element in Arc’s hand. “Where the heck are we supposed to keep that thing?”

Tempest frowns. “The colonel is right. We shouldn’t leave something so valuable to our cause just lying around.”

Arc holds up a hand. “Not to worry. There’s always my magic ring.”

Spitfire shakes her head. “And if you or it should be captured, all that work would then be for naught.”

Tempest nods. “Agreed. We need someplace a bit less… mobile.”

Arc gestures down the corridor. “How about the base’s vault then?”

Spitfire frowns. “I’ve only seen it in passing while on patrol. Can I assume that it’s secure?”

Arc nods. “According to the architect whom designed the base, it’s second only to Canterlot’s vaults.”

Tempest shrugs. “Sounds good to me.”

Spitfire writes something down on her clipboard. “Alright. I’ll make a memo for General Cherry letting her know of the Element’s location when she returns.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “She’s usually just called the mayor now though.”

Spitfire facehoofs. “Yes, I know. Old habits die hard, I guess.”

Arc clears his throat. “In any case, let’s get this thing locked up.”

Leading the way to the vault, Arc opens it and steps inside as the two mares wait respectfully at the door. Carefully setting the Element of Honesty on an empty shelf, Arc sighs as he mutters to himself.

“I’ll find the rest of you. This I promise.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “Talking to a rock now?”

Arc sighs. “Just musing to myself, I suppose.”

Turning, he leads them out of the vault and closes it. Looking to Spitfire, Arc again speaks.

“That just leaves the matter of our next move.”

“What did you have in mind?”

Tempest frowns as she looks around. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about sensitive matter like this here.”

Arc points down the corridor. “Office?”

Spitfire nods. “Probably a good idea, yes. I can give you a rundown of what’s going on at the moment as well.”

The trio heads for the War Room together. Entering, they make a beeline for the main office. After securing the door behind them, Spitfire walks over to the desk and sits down. Pulling out a stack of papers she clears her throat and speaks.

“Platinum Valve has reported to us that food production has increased by three hundred percent with the introduction of the Nightborn’s aid in growing food.”

Arc looks to the window. “What of the other greenhouses?”

Spitfire smirks. “Completed ahead of schedule with the aid of their shadow creatures, or whatever those things are. That’s most of the reason for the increase in food production.”

Tempest sits down on her haunches and frowns. “I still don’t trust those robe wearing freaks or their pets.”

Spitfire sighs. “In times like these we need all the help we can get though, Tempest.”

Arc nods. “Agreed. And we’re going to need the additional food to help the survivors down on the surface. What about transit lines?”

Spitfire taps the map on the wall. “We’ve already sent aid to Baltimare and Manehattan to keep their food stores up. It’s all done via teleporter which helps keep things secure.”

Tempest grins. “It wouldn’t do to have Canterlot intercept their shipments, after all.”

Arc looks to the map. “And what of Las Pegasus?”

Spitfire shrugs. “I sent word to them offering our assistance. However, the return message said that they’re doing very well on their own at the moment and don’t require any outside support.”

Tempest scoffs. “Pride.”

Arc turns his gaze to the planet outside their window. “Either that or their food stores honestly are as big as they say they are.”

Spitfire frowns. “That may very well be. But I must also point out that no matter how plentiful their supplies may be at the moment, nothing is ever truly bottomless.”

Tempest looks to the colonel. What do you suggest we do then?

Spitfire bows her head. “Nothing much at the moment. I mean, it’s not like we can force them to accept our aid.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Agreed. For now, let’s just focus on those whom need our help.”

Tempest nods to the map. “Baltimare and Manehattan.”

“Right. But as was suggested a while back, we should also look into putting the increased food stuffs into either jars of cans for potential long term storage.”

Spitfire taps the desk with a hoof. We’re doing that as best we can, of course.”

Tempest shrugs. “True. But we don’t have the facilities to do such a thing to accommodate the increased output of the greenhouses though.

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve seen such things in stores, so it’s possible.”

Tempest nods. “With the proper equipment such things would be an option, yes.”

Arc turns to Spitfire. “Where would we find such equipment then?”

Spitfire puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “There’s always Sweet Apple Acres. They jar jams and other preserves, after all.”

Tempest shakes her head. “True. But that equipment has been moved since then though.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “How do you know?”

“Because I saw what I can only assume was its former spot in the barn when we were raiding it some time ago. Wires sticking out haphazardly as well as pipes and scratch marks leading to the door.”

Arc frowns as he puts a hand to his chin. “What would Canterlot need with such things though?”

Spitfire shrugs. “It is possible that they too have come into their own source of food via grow lights. After all, it would make sense for them to look at long term food storage as well.”

Cherry calls out to Arc telepathically. “What about Cherry Hill Ranch?”

“Huh?”

“We have jarring equipment there. It’s very similar to that which Applejack had on her farm.”

Arc looks to Spitfire. “There’s always Cherry Hill Ranch as well.”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow. “That place in Dodge Junction?”

Tempest nods. “He’s right. They would have had equipment there to process cherries.”

Spitfire sighs. “I suppose that’s true. But we’d still need the approval of general… Mayor Cherry first. After all, it is her property.”

Arc looks to the door. “If it would help expediate the process, I could head back over to the hospital and ask her about it.”

Tempest bows her head. “That’s probably not a good idea right now.”

Spitfire nods. “Right. She has enough on her plate at the moment, what with her friend lying in a hospital bed.”

Tempest shrugs. “And it’s not like we’re in desperate need of that equipment just yet.”

“I suppose that’s true. Worst case scenario we could always just send the excess food out to either Manehattan or Baltimare as a sort of free gift.”

Spitfire grins. “A bit of goodwill never hurt.”

Tempest looks to the colonel. “Now that we have a plan for what to do with the food stores, what are we supposed to do in the meantime?”

“We should probably increase our search parties to bring back anything else that could be of use to us in the future.”

Tempest turns to the window and the planet below. “And what about searching for more allies? I mean, there has to be others out there whom could be convinced to join us.”

Spitfire taps the map on the desk with a hoof. “But we’ve already searched every town on the map and saved those whom we could.”

Arc walks over to the desk. “Let me see.”

Scanning the map, he looks over the various towns which have been crossed out by a red pencil. Pointing a finger at one of them, he looks to Tempest.

“What about here?”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Vanhoover?”

Arc nods. “Can I assume that you evacuated it?”

“The orphanage along with the town’s citizens, yes.”

“Anyone else?”

Tempest frowns. “Um… I’m not really sure what you’re getting at with that.”

Spitfire shrugs. “Yeah, I can’t imagine Tempest leaving anypony behind.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe not intentionally, no. But that doesn’t mean there’s no one there.”

“What are you getting at?”

Arc instinctively lowers his voice. “This is top secret, but… there is another country underneath Baltimare.”

Spitfire raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?”

“For many years they have lived far below the streets of Vanhoover.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “And how long is ‘many years’ supposed to be?!”

“Centuries.”

Spitfire gasps. “But how could they have done such a thing without us knowing about them all this time?!”

“The civilization uses beasts, whom they are able to communicate with somehow, to hunt and forage for them rather than going up to the surface themselves.”

Tempest groans as she puts a hoof to her forehead. “This is… just so hard to believe though! Are you certain of this?!”

Arc nods. “Very. The ogres…”

Spitfire cuts him off. “OGRES?!”

“Is that a problem?”

“Yes!”

“How so?”

“We have OGRES living in Equestria?! Isn’t that enough reason?!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “No.”

Tempest steps forward. “As much as I hate to admit it, the Hero of Light is correct in this matter.”

Spitfire gasps. “What?! How?!”

“Because they’ve been here for so long without incident, for starters. That and we don’t really have the military might to chase them out even if we wanted to.”

Arc chuckles as he looks out the window at Equus. “I can do you one better though. Their civilization actually predates the founding of Equestria. So if anything, they have every right to stay where they are.”

Spitfire facehoofs. “But… but ogres…”

Tempest sighs. “In any case, we should probably send somepony over there to make contact with them.”

Spitfire motions to Arc. “Sounds to me as though the Hero of Light already did that.”

Arc shakes his head. “Sadly, no. And before you ask, to the best of my knowledge no one has approached them in all the time they’ve been down there.”

Tempest smirks. “Then I suppose we’ll be the first.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “We?”

Tempest nods. “Can’t let you go on this one all by yourself. That and I’d like a word with these ogres as well.”

Spitfire looks to Arc. “Do you know where to find them?”

“In the old aqueducts that run under Vanhoover. There’s a trap door in the New Beginnings Orphanage that we can use to get down there.”

Tempest frowns. “How do you know about…?”

Arc cuts her off. “It’s a state secret.”

Tempest grits her teeth. “But I have the highest level of security clearance of anypony in…!”

Arc interrupts her again. “Some things are a secret from everyone though.”

Spitfire shrugs. “That does kinda make sense. Part of keeping the public safe is hiding certain facts, after all.”

Tempest turns and heads for the door. “Fine. But I’m still coming along!”

Arc falls into step behind her. “Very well. Shall we be off then?”

Spitfire appears confused. “Uh, aren’t you tired from this morning though?”

Arc shakes his head. “Oddly enough, no.”

Tempest smirks. “Why would he be? Remember, all he had to do was lie there and sleep. More or less anyways.”

Arc shrugs. “There was a bit more to it than that. But we’ll have to leave such a conversation for another day.”

He gestures to the door and Tempest follows him toward it. As he puts a hand on the doorknob, Arc turns back to Spitfire.

“Keep things on track here until either we or Cherry comes back.”

Spitfire nods. “I will.”

Leaving the office, Arc and Tempest head to the Main Hall. As they walk Arc turns to her.

“So why did you want to come on this mission?”

“It involves going back to my old orphanage. If something was indeed going on there it was my fault for not noticing it.”

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

Tempest scoffs. “Let’s just stay focused on the matter at hoof.”

“But…”

Tempest stops walking and turns to him. “I’d like to point out that you are the one whom is keeping any number of dangerous secrets to yourself here! So don’t act so surprised when somepony else wants to keep things to themselves!”

Arc sighs. “Fair enough.”

Continuing on their way, they come to the Main Hall. Arc walks over to the desk and points at a spot on the map.

“We need to go here.”

Tempest walks over and shakes her head. “Make it here instead.”

The stallion looks to Arc. “Sir?”

Arc shrugs. “There then, I guess.”

As the stallion gets to work imputing the coordinates Arc and Tempest step onto the teleporter pad. A few moments later the stallion powers it up and the pair vanish. Reappearing in a dense forest, Arc turns to Tempest.

“What’s so special about this place?”

Tempest sighs as she looks around. “It’s a very… special spot for me personally.”

Walking over to a tree, she reaches a hoof into a knothole partway up the trunk. Pulling out a small case, she sets it down on the ground and opens it. Peering inside for a few moments silently, Tempest groans and closes it again before putting the case back in its place. Arc raises an eyebrow, clearly confused.

“Uh… care to tell me what that was all about?”

Tempest turns and walks away. “Not really.”

“Fine.”

“Really?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Huh. Interesting.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “What is?”

“I thought you would try and order me to tell you. Not that such a thing would have worked, mind you.”

Arc shrugs. “Like you pointed out before we left the base. You have your secrets and I have mine.”

Tempest narrows her eyes. “Yes, I do believe you have established that fact.”

“All in the name of national security though.”

“Same here. So let’s forget all about that and just get on with the mission.”

“Very well.”

Approaching the edge of the forest, they step out onto a road. Tempest points a hoof as she speaks.

“The orphanage is this way.”

Arc looks around. “Are you sure?”

Tempest nods as she continues on. “Very. Remember, this town was my post for a number of years.”

“Post?”

“Assignment. Which means that I know both it and the orphanage like the back of my hoof.”

“Because you designed it.”

Tempest stops and turns to him, her eyes narrowed. “And how exactly did you know that?”

“I saw the blueprints. According to the notes they were apparently drafted by ‘T. Shadow’.”

Tempest begins walking again. “Oh… right.”

A short time later they approach the orphanage. It stands before them silent and dark. Walking up to the front door, Tempest pushes it open and the pair step into the Main Hall together. As Arc closes the door behind them Tempest turns to him and speaks.

“There’s a hatch leading underground…”

Arc continues her sentence. “…in the closet at the end of the hall.”

“Blueprints?”

Arc nods. “Yup.”

Tempest motions for him to follow. “Knew I should have destroyed those back then.”

“There is one thing that I don’t understand though.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“If you personally designed the orphanage, why draw in an access point to the aqueducts?”

Tempest sighs. “Force of habit.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “I’m afraid I don’t get your meaning.”

“You have to understand that when somepony is trained in the art of stealth and subterfuge one of the things that’s drilled into our heads relentlessly is to always have a number of different escape routes available to oneself at all times. And after a while making sure such a thing stays true, well… it just becomes second nature.”

“So I’m assuming you figured that, if the need ever arose, you and the orphans could take shelter down there?”

Tempest nods as they stop in front of the closet door. “More or less. While it certainly wouldn’t have been my first choice for a retreat, as I’m not even sure if there’s still a safe way up to the surface down there, in the event of an emergency it would have been a decent plan of last resort.”

Arc gestures to the door. “I suppose so. But considering what’s down there, it’s a good thing you never had to follow through.”

Tempest grimaces. “Ogres. I’ve only ever read about them in books detailing extinct species.”

Arc chuckles. “They’ll have to amend them after this.”

“Maybe.”

Arc sighs. “You still think I’m making all of this up, don’t you?”

Tempest shrugs. “It just doesn’t make sense. I mean… how could they have lived down there all these years without anypony figuring it out.”

“You included I might add.”

“That too!”

Arc calls forth his armor. “Then let’s get underway so we can put this matter to bed.”

Nodding silently, Tempest puts a hoof on the doorknob. Turning it, she pulls the door open to reveal a more or less empty closet. Arc knocks aside the throw rug with a Telekinesis Spell and takes a step forward. Tempest frowns and quickly steps in front of him.

“Wait!”

“What is it?”

“Remember, I’m still technically the matron of this orphanage.”

“What’s your point?”

“So, I should be the one to go first.”

Arc shakes his head. “Trust me when I say that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Tempest puts a hoof on her blade as she replies sarcastically. “Aw, what’s the matter? Are you afraid that the big, bad ogres are going to get me?”

“Not so much the ogres themselves as much as their ‘pets’ might.”

“You did mention before that they had domesticated animals, yes. But I’m sure I’ll be able to handle some woodland creatures.”

Arc groans. “These are a bit bigger than what you would normally see though.”

Tempest smirks. “Then they’ll be easier to see coming.”

“I’m not going to be able to convince you to let me go first, am I?”

Tempest shakes her head. “Nope.”

Arc folds his arms over his chest plate. “Then how about a bit of a compromise?”

“I’m listening.”

A short time late the pair walk down a dark tunnel together side by side. Tempest turns to Arc as she speaks.

“Happy?”

“Not really.”

“Why not? After all, we were able to come to an agreement.”

“I still say this is a bad idea though.”

Tempest rolls her eyes as they step into a larger room. “And I’m sure that you’re just…”

She is cut off as Arc violently shoves Tempest to the ground. As the mare opens her mouth to speak, she is again interrupted as Arc dives on top of her. The sound of numerous small projectiles bouncing off his armor echo in the otherwise still chamber. Grabbing her muzzle, Arc pulls Tempest’s head close to his and whispers.

“Pretend you’re paralyzed!”

Grunting, Tempest wordlessly nods. Arc releases his grasp on her muzzle and waits. A short time later a contingent of ogres, flanked by a number of very large scorpions, cautiously step out of the shadows and approach the pair on the ground. As they near, Arc quickly jumps to his feet. The ogres point with their spears, commanding the scorpions to attack. Arc casts a Barrier Spell to counter their barbs and shield himself along with Tempest. After a few moments the ogres call off their assault and cry out for reinforcements. Arc takes the opportunity to speak to them.

“Wait! We come in peace!”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “Oh, this is going to work out great.”

“My name is Arc. I’ve come here to represent the country of Equestria.”

The leader of the group appears confused as he speaks.

“Equestria?!”

Arc points toward the ceiling with a finger. “The country up there.”

“Wat yew doing down here?!”

“There’s trouble in our land. I’ve come to talk about it with King Megut.”

The ogres bow their heads and sigh. Tempest looks at them, confused.

“Uh… what are you doing?”

“King Megut’s name sacred to us. He bravest of the brave and toughest of the tough. But even he not strong enough to survive bad pony betrayal.”

Arc groans. “So he’s gone?”

“Dead and buried.”

“Then how about his son, Prince Tugem? Is he here?”

“Ya! Prince Tugem our new leader, after all.”

“Can I see him please?”

The ogre levels his weapon at Arc and growls. “What for?!”

“Just to talk over future potential diplomatic relations between Equestria and the Ogre Nation.”

“Uh… first you explain what all that mean!”

Tempest groans. “This isn’t going so well.”

Arc nods. “I know.”

Looking back to the ogre, Arc continues.

“In other words, I merely want to speak to the prince about important leadership matters.”

The ogre bangs his spear against his shield angrily. “You want Prince Tugem to hear your words, then you tell them to me and I tell him for you!”

“It’s pretty complicated stuff though.”

“Go ahead! Me leader of this group because me the smartests!”

Arc shrugs. “Alright.”

Taking a deep breath, Arc continues.

“As Equestria’s Hero of Light, I’ve come here today in order to extend a proverbial olive branch to the illustrious monarch of your nation. Our two societies needn’t be adversaries, as our sovereignties have shared the same continent since time immemorial to all. It is my hope that through this dialogue I hope to have with his royal highness, as well as future correspondences forthwith, we can see fit to bury the hatchet and come to a benevolent understanding of one another.”

The ogre stands there staring at Arc for a few moments. Eventually he speaks.

“Uh…”

Arc smirks under his helmet. “Did you get all of that or should I repeat it?”

“I gets it. But, uh…”

“Is there a problem?”

The ogre scratches his head. “Not sure I can… say all of that to the prince.”

Arc shrugs. “I know. Like I said, it’s pretty complicated stuff.”

Tempest facehoofs. “With subjects like these it’s a wonder they made it this far.”

The ogre grunts. “Me thinks you just going to have to say that to Prince Tugem himself.”

Arc nods as he gestures toward a nearby corridor. “Good. Please lead the way.”

“No! First we go and ask prince what he want us to do! Then he decide if he listen to your words or just has us come back and make you into beast food!”

Arc chuckles. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll want to see me.”

The ogres back away with his troops and their scorpions. “You stay here! No leave this spot!”

Arc waves after then. “We’ll be waiting.”

As they retreat down another corridor, Arc lowers his Magic Barrier. As he does so, Tempest steps forward and looks around at their surroundings as she speaks.

“Maybe one of these other tunnels will let us get ahead of that group!”

“Perhaps, yes.”

“So which one do you want to try?”

“None of them.”

Tempest frowns. “What?”

Arc leans against a wall. “I said that we would wait here for them. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

Tempest narrows her eyes. “You do realize that fighting fair seldom wins a battle, right?”

“That may very well be. However, this isn’t my first time dealing with foreign powers.”

“Foreign powers?! They’re just a bunch of stupid beasts that learned to string words together into semi-coherent sentences!”

“I agree that they may not be as intelligent as you or I. But you can’t deny their other achievements.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “What? You mean coming up with sticks for weapons?”

“I meant how they’ve managed to not just survive down here, but thrive. For centuries, I might add. And right under your very nose too.”

Tempest scoffs. “Yeah, well… nopony knew they were here anyways.”

“Including the princesses themselves, I might add.”

“Really?”

Arc nods. “They were very surprised when I first told them of the ogres here in the aqueducts.”

Tempest smirks. “And all this time I thought that nopony could surprise an alicorn princess.”

Arc shrugs. “No one knows everything.”

Sometime later innumerable ogre guards step out from several dark corridors and approach the pair. Tempest instinctively puts her hoof on her blade but Arc motions for her to hold her position. Stepping forward, Arc places himself in front of Tempest as the ogres finish getting into formation. A few moments later a better dressed ogre approaches and looks Arc up and down before speaking.

“Good day, Equestrian.”

Arc bows at the waist. “Thank you for seeing us, Prince Tugem.”

Tugem frowns. “Forgive me, but it is ‘King Tugem’ now.”

“Ah, yes. My apologies, sir.”

“I am told you are what is known in Equestria as the ‘Hero of Light’.”

Arc nods. “Yes sir. My name is Arc. And my companion here is Special Agent Tempest.”

Tugem nods to her. “The matron of the orphanage.”

Tempest appears surprised. “I am, yes. But how did you know that?”

“We may not go to the surface very often, miss. However, that does not mean we are ill-informed about the comings and goings of this land.”

He turns back to Arc before continuing.

“Now then, for what purpose have you come into my domain today?”

“You are no doubt aware of the instability within Equestria these days. How the sun no longer shines and the land is in turmoil.”

Tugem nods. “Yes, we can hear the land crying out on the winds. But is that not you Equestrian’s doing?”

“I suppose it is, yes. It appears that one of the princesses has succumbed to her inner darkness and overthrown the capital to rule alone.”

Tugem folds his arms over his chest. “And you come to me now seeking the military aid of the ogres with which to retake your capital city and overthrow the current monarch?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, sir.”

Tugem raises an eyebrow. “Then for what reason do you stand before me?”

“It has been centuries since the ponies and ogres shared the land above. And over the years your civilization was forgotten. Lost to all in the sands of time. But it need not stay that way.”

“You seek an economic alliance of sorts then?”

“In a manner of speaking. I’d like for us to be able to trade with your nation.”

Tugem gestures with a wave of his hand. “What would we trade with though? As you can see, we don’t exactly have a lot of resources.”

Tempest steps forward. “I’m assuming you’re short on food at the moment.”

Tugem sighs. “I must admit, our hunting beasts have had great difficulty finding prey for some time now, yes. However, that does not address my earlier question of what we would use to bargain with.”

Arc chuckles. “Information.”

Tugem appears confused. “I am afraid that I don’t get your meaning.”

“In order for our rebellion against Canterlot, our capital city, to be successful we need to know more about what’s going on around the country.”

Tempest groans. “And we don’t really have the hooves to do that as it stands.”

“The ogres are masters of training animals to do their will. Even going so far to be able to speak to them. Such skills would be very valuable to our cause.”

Tugem puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Our beasts can move swiftly and silently among the land above, yes.”

Tempest shrugs. “And even in the off chance that they were seen, it would not raise any concerns from whomever spotted them.”

Tugem turns to Arc. “What kind of information would we be seeking for you?”

“Our top priority right now is to find a way to enter the capital again. And to do that we need to locate a number of very specific mares.”

Tugem frowns. “Mares?”

Arc nods as he pulls a picture from his ring. “Yes. There are six of them.”

Holding out the photograph, Arc waits. King Tugem motions to a guard whom steps forward to take it. Shuffling it back to his monarch, the young ogre looks it over for a long moment before turning his attention back to Arc again.

“They do not appear to be warriors.”

Arc nods. “That’s because they aren’t. Top left, the pink one is named Pinkie Pie. She’s a professional party planner. The blue pegasus to her right, Rainbow Dash, is a weather pony. On the bottom left, Rarity, is a dress maker. To her right, lying on the ground, is a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. She’s…”

Tugem cuts him off, his eyes wide. “THE MOTHER!”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Uh… mother?”

“This mare is very… special to those of us whom are attuned to that land! The yellow one you know as ‘Fluttershy’ is referred throughout the animal kingdom simply as ‘mother’!”

Arc appears hopeful. “Does that mean you can find her?”

Tugem nods soberly. “Her at the very least, yes.”

Tempest frowns. “We need all six though!”

Arc shakes his head. “Five now. Remember, we already found Applejack.”

Tugem holds up the photo. “You have my word that we shall begin the search for the Mother at once!”

Arc grins. “And the other four?”

Tempest points upward. “Along with other intel too.”

Tugem shakes his head. “I have not yet agreed to your earlier trade offer, Hero of Light. The ogre tribe will track down the Mother’s current location and pass it on to you, of course. However, that is all I am willing to commit to at this time.”

“Then let me show you a token of the bounty we can offer.”

Reaching into his ring, Arc pulls out a large basket. Setting it down on the ground he steps back and continues talking.

“This is but a sample of what we’ve been able to grow lately.”

Removing a second container from his ring, Arc sets it down next to the first and opens the lid. Reaching out a hand, he casts a Telekinesis Spell and lifts a flopping fish from it. Looking to the king again, Arc speaks.

“We also have access to fish from the eastern seaboard of Equestria if that would be of interest to you.”

Tugem raises an eyebrow. “Very interesting. We’ve never had such fresh things before.”

Tempest taps a hoof impatiently. “So let’s make a deal then!

Tugem frowns. “I shall talk it over with my advisors first.”

“But we need to…!”

Arc interrupts her. “Thank you very much, King Tugem. When might we return for your final answer in this matter?”

“Tomorrow morning. You may remain here in the meantime.”

Tempest points a hoof back the way they came. “Fine. We’ll spend the night in the old orphanage above.”

“That may not be advisable at this point in time.”

Arc appears confused. “Oh?”

“My scouts have informed me of an increase in the number of armored pony patrols within the woods in and around the town above you know as ‘Vanhoover’. It is likely that they would investigate any source of life they came across.”

Tempest looks to Arc. “We could always head back to base and return in the morning.”

Tugem chimes in. “Or you may remain here in this section of our domain. I would assume that it’s certainly not what you’re used to. But is nonetheless safe from the patrols above.”

Arc looks around. “I… suppose we could.”

“Very well. I only ask that you not leave this chamber without being escorted by our guards.”

He gestures to the adjoining corridors before continuing.

“They patrol the area regularly, so you will have no trouble locating them should the need arise.”

Arc bows at the waist respectfully. “Thank you, King Tugem. We shall wait here for your decision then.”

Nodding, the king turns and leaves with his guards. As they vanish from sight down a corridor, Tempest looks to Arc and frowns.

“Very good. I love the idea of spending the night in a cold, dark hole in the ground without the necessary supplies to do so.”

Arc pats his ring. “I do have camping supplies though.”

“That makes things a little bit better, I suppose. But I still don’t understand why you agreed to stay here.”

Arc pulls a tent from his ring. “It was my idea to show King Tugem just how serious I am in having a partnership with the ogres. That I’m not afraid of them or their domain either.”

Tempest steps forward to help him. “An interesting take on our current situation. However, I’m guessing that we have the numbers to simply take them head on.”

“Maybe. But that’s not my goal here.”

Tempest rolls her eyes. “Securing all land withing Equestria’s borders isn’t on your radar?”

“Only from perceivable threats.”

Tempest gestures with a hoof toward the corridor the king took. “And you don’t seem to think that a whole civilization living under our very noses to be an issue?”

Arc shakes his head. “Nope.”

“Why not?!”

“Because they were forced to come here.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”

Arc sighs. “Let’s finish setting up our camp before I start that story.”

Sometime later the tent is pitched and two sleeping bags laid out inside of it. Removing a device from his ring, Arc sets it in the middle of the floor and turns it on. A few moments later it begins to glow softly. Tempest walks over and sits down in front of it. Holding out her hooves, she rubs them together and sighs contentedly.

“I’ve always loved that warm feeling.”

Arc sits on the ground across from her. “Warming up over a magically powered stove after working on getting the tent set up?”

Tempest nods. “Yeah. It always gives me something to look forward to.”

Arc recalls his armor and holds his hands out to the device. “This little stove really does put out some heat.”

“They’re pretty standard for field operations. As long as you have at least one Unicorn in your party to keep its magical batteries charged up, staying warm isn’t an issue.”

She reaches over and rummages around in her saddlebags for a few moments before pulling out two boxes. Tossing one to Arc, she begins unwrapping hers.

“It’s not much. But this is certainly better than nothing.”

Arc sighs as he too opens his package. “Right. Military meals.”

Tempest nods to the stove. “These were specifically made for this purpose, after all. Well, that and keeping warm, I suppose.”

They cook their food and begin to eat. Looking over at Arc, Tempest again speaks.

“So… you going to fill me in on this?”

Arc appears confused. “Huh?”

“On what you were saying earlier about how the ogres were ‘forced’ to come here.”

“Ah! Right!”

“I’m assuming it’s a big state secret though.”

Arc shakes his head. “Not exactly. I mean… it’s not like anyone really knew that they were down here until somewhat recently.”

‘Then talk.”

“Fine.”

Putting down his meal, Arc looks to Tempest and continues.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the origins of Equestria.”

“Origins?”

Arc nods. “The story of Hearth’s Warming.”

“You mean when the three pony races came together to create this country?”

“Exactly. Now then, the three races came to this land in order to escape the cold in their former homes caused by the windigos. However, their constant fighting over whom owned the land caused the windigos, and by proxy the arctic cold, to come here as well. It plunged the continent into winter seemingly overnight.”

Tempest shrugs. “Everypony has heard that story before.”

“The ogres lived to the west of Vanhoover on islands just off the coast.”

Tempest frowns. “Islands? In the North Luna Sea?”

Arc nods. “Right.”

“But we’ve had our forces look them over in the past. There wasn’t anything found that suggested they once had a city there.”

“Remember, this was well over a thousand years ago. Everything they built had plenty of time to rot or be buried.”

“I suppose so. But what does that have to do with them being here in Vanhoover? Well, under it.”

“When the temperature started to drop, strange winged creatures that I can only assume were windigos attacked the islands. The leaders of the clans led their entire nation across the sea to the mainland in an effort to preserve their society. They kept walking, looking for shelter, and eventually ran across an Earth Pony city.”

“Vanhoover?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, this city predated that. It was before Unification also.”

“So they stayed there?”

“They tried to, yes. The Earth Ponies wouldn’t let them in though. So the ogres set up camp outside the walls. However, their leader saw in a dream a creature of pure light that promised to lead his ogres to safety if they would just follow.”

Tempest shrugs. “It was just a dream though, right?”

“Apparently not, as when he awoke there was a strange light shining some distance away.”

“So he followed it?”

Arc nods. “With his entire tribe behind him. They followed the light to a broken grate in the town wall that led underground to the aqueducts.”

“And they remain here to this day.”

“Exactly. When Vanhoover was constructed on the ruins of that city they just built right over the old aqueducts.”

“But how did they survive?”

“Apparently mushrooms grew thick around here back then. That was before they turned to using their beasts for foraging, of course.”

“An interesting tale. But if what you’ve told me is true, why keep it to yourself?”

Arc sighs. “Because that would mean others would have a reason to come here looking for them. You saw what the ogres did to protect their territory when we arrived.”

Tempest frowns. “They certainly weren’t fooling around with security earlier.”

“Anyone else that comes here might not be lucky enough to be wearing such heavy armor. So I’d ask you to keep what I told you to yourself.”

“Fine, I guess it wouldn’t hurt anypony not to know the truth about this place.”

“Yes, just leave its existence in the past where it belongs. It’s best for all concerned.”

They stare at the glow of the stove for a few minutes before Arc again speaks.

“Hey, um…”

Tempest looks to him. “What is it?”

“I… just wanted to say ‘thank you’.”

Tempest appears confused. “For what?”

“Having my back in the past.”

“It’s a soldier’s duty though.”

“I suppose it is, yes. To follow the orders of their superiors in an effort to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. But you’ve volunteered to come with me a time or two.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “So?”

“I’m just wondering why you did that.”

“Because you’re the best chance we have at overthrowing Canterlot and freeing Equestria.”

“I suppose so. But I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.”

Tempest sighs. “Yeah. Kinda is.”

Arc folds his hands and places them in his lap. “If you’d like to talk about it, I’d like to listen.”

Tempest looks away. “I’d… rather not.”

Arc shrugs. “Alright.”

They are silent for a time, the only sounds coming from the magically powered stove between them. Eventually, Arc continues.

“If you don’t want to talk about that, there is something I’d like to speak to you about. Off the record though.”

“What’s that?”

“At any point in time, have you ever… been approached by someone asking you to work with them on something?”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, but I don’t get your meaning.”

Arc makes a circular motion with his hand as. “Someone… outside of the military hierarchy.”

“Can you be a bit more specific?”

“A stallion in a black robe that exudes dark power.”

She is silent for a time. Eventually, Tempest takes a deep breath and nods.

“Yes.”

“Do you remember his name?”

“He would just refer to himself as ‘The Dark One’.”

“And what did he want?”

“Me to join his group in defending Equestria from what he called ‘the coming darkness’.”

Sighing, she looks over her shoulder at the corridor they used to get there before speaking again.

“And it appears what he was trying to stop came to pass.”

Arc frowns. “Came to pass?”

Tempest nods. “The sun no longer shines and the capital has fallen. What else could he have meant?”

“I suppose you have a point there. Can you tell me more about what he was willing to offer for your help?”

“Some kind of blade. A scythe, really. He said that it had the power to absorb souls, or some such nonsense. And that by using it I could become more or less immortal.”

“And you turned him down?”

Tempest nods. “Yes. Yes, I did.”

“May I ask why?”

“When accepting something of great value, something of equal or greater value must be given in return. So when I asked him what I had to give in return he uttered a single, chilling word.”

She closes her eyes and continues.

“Everything.”

“What do you mean?”

Tempest shakes her head. “He wanted my soul upon my death.”

Arc breathes a sigh of relief. “Probably for the best that you turned down such a thing.”

“That’s what I thought at the time. But now… now I’m not so sure.”

Arc appears confused. “What do you mean?”

“With that kind of power I could probably have trounced anypony whom stood in our way. Heck, maybe even broken into Canterlot by now.”

Sighing, she looks to Arc before continuing.

“That’s part of the reason why I volunteer to go out as often as possible. All in hopes that I might run into him again.”

Arc frowns. “And take him up on his offer?”

“It would be a small price to pay! Liberating a nation by sacrificing one mare’s life!”

Arc shakes his head. “I’d rather do it without sacrificing anyone.”

“That’s not going to be possible and you know it!”

“Sure. But I still wouldn’t trust someone who made such offers.”

“Why not?!”

“Mostly because of the power discrepancy.”

“Huh?!”

“Think about it, Tempest. If he had the ability to give you an item of such power, then he must have even greater power himself.”

“And…?!”

“If he really is that powerful, why doesn’t he use that power to save the nation himself?”

There is a long silence that Arc does not try to break. Eventually, Tempest nods silently.

“I… guess I never really thought about it that way before. If he’s so powerful than why would he need me?”

“Believe me when I say that I think you made the right choice by turning him down.”

Tempest groans. “Yeah, maybe. But then I’d have been able to…”

She suddenly stands up as a strange look covers her face. Turning, Tempest quickly walks toward the tent and enters it wordlessly. Cherry calls out to Arc telepathically as she does so.

“What was that about?!”

Arc sighs. “I’m guessing she’s having some regrets from not taking the power from the Dark One. So every time she fails, or feels that she could have done more, her mind goes back to what could have been.”

“Like somepony else I can think of.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Really? Who?”

“You, Arc.”

“Me?!”

“Yes, you.”

“But I never…!”

Cherry interrupts him. “Every time you have a free moment you always second guess your past decisions.”

“I… suppose I do. But not THAT often! Right?!”

Cherry groans. “All the time, Arc.”

“Guess that’s true.”

Grunting, he facepalms.

“So I’m going to regret it like she did.”

Cherry sounds confused. “Regret what?”

“Before we came to this version of Equestria I was visiting our Tempest in the hospital with Cerulean Skies. The Dark One came and offered me her weapon, Light’s Bane, with no strings attached.”

“And you didn’t take it I would imagine.”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah, I didn’t want anything to do with that guy. And who’s to say that it really was catch free?”

“So it’s possible that at some point you’ll be in a situation where things don’t turn out the best and you will be lamenting your previous choice?”

Arc nods. “Like Tempest is, yes.”

“While I’m not trying to say that either of you made the wrong decision in your respective decisions, I do understand all too well how you think, Arc. And I just wanted to get this out in the open beforehoof.”

“Yeah, I get it. But…”

“But, what?”

Arc gestures to the tent. “Do you think I should say something to Tempest?”

“Probably not. I mean, that’s more than likely crossing a line.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“In any case, you should probably take Tempest’s lead and get some rest now.”

Arc shuts off the stove and stands. “Sounds good.”

Heading to the tent, Arc sees Tempest in her sleeping bag facing away. Closing the flap behind him, he lies down in his own bag and gets comfortable. Staring up at the ceiling for a time, Arc considers the conversation from earlier in his head. Eventually he closes his eyes and falls asleep. However, sometime later Arc is awakened by a strange sound. Sitting up, he looks around for a few moments before peeking outside the tent. Frowning, he calls out to Cherry.

“Am I hearing things?”

“No, I heard it too.”

“What was it?”

“I have no idea.”

The sound again rings out. Turning his head, Arc sees Tempest moving erratically in her sleeping bag. Raising an eyebrow, he calls out to Cherry again.

“Uh… is she… you know…?”

“I think she may be having a bad dream, or something.”

“Does that mean I should I wake her?”

“That would probably be wise, yes.”

Reaching over, Arc puts a hand on Tempest’s shoulder and shakes her gently. However, instead of waking up she puts her hoof on his hand and coos slightly.

“Oh, Deci… you’re a forward one!”

Arc grimaces. “Oh boy.”

Shaking her a bit harder, Arc sees her eyes open. Tempest looks at Arc for a long moment before slowly pulling her fetlock back inside her sleeping bag and looking away.

“Um… is something up?”

“No, I just… you were… uh…”

Tempest rolls over to again face away from him. “I’m sure it was nothing. Night.”

Arc sighs. “Yeah. Good night.”

He lays back down and closes his eyes. Shortly thereafter Arc falls asleep again. However, Tempest lies awake staring at the tent wall. Blushing heavily, she pulls the sleeping bag over her head and grunts softly as she muses to herself.

“Of all the stallions to do something like that in front of…!”

The next morning (as per the clock not the sun, of course) Arc awakens. Sitting up, he looks over to Tempest’s sleeping bag to see it empty. Getting to his feet, he pushes the tent flap open to see Tempest sitting on her haunches in front of the stove heating up two pouches of food. Turning to him, she grimaces.

“Um… I just… thought I’d get started making breakfast.”

Arc approaches her. “Ah! I see.”

Sitting down across from her, he waits silently as Tempest finishes warming up their ‘meal’. Handing him his portion, Tempest picks hers up and begins to eat. They do so without a word for a few minutes. Eventually Arc breaks the uncomfortable silence.

“So… how did you sleep last night?”

Tempest looks down at the food as she speaks. “Alright, I suppose.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Tempest motions to the corridor behind her. “Think the king will keep us waiting long?”

“No idea.”

Another uncomfortable silence fills the air. Groaning, Tempest drops her food pack on the ground and looks Arc straight in the eye.

“I…! You see…!”

Arc looks at her evenly. “What is it?”

“About… last night. You see… I was… you know…”

“…dreaming.”

Tempest appears confused. “What?”

“You were making some rather strange noises last night. So I decided to wake you in an effort to make sure that you were alright.”

Tempest grimaces. “R-right. Dreaming.”

“And we don’t need to speak of it any further if you don’t want to.”

“I would appreciate that, yes.”

“Then if you’re happy with that, the subject is closed.”

Tempest nods. “I am.”

“Good.”

He goes back to eating as Tempest picks up her packet again and picks at her food for a few minutes. Eventually she looks to him again and speaks.

“I have a question.”

Arc raises his eyes and looks to her. “What is it?”

“Can you tell me your exact… position within the… order of things?”

“Not applicable.”

Tempest frowns. “Huh?”

“The Hero of Light is not part of the military.”

“Yes, I know that! What I meant was… ah…!”

She trails off and begins wringing her hooves nervously. Arc sighs, puts down his food, and looks her in the eye.

“Whatever it is that you want to say to me, just say it. You have my word that I will keep it to myself.”

“Alright.”

Taking a deep breath, Tempest composes herself before continuing.

“How much do you know about my past?”

“A bit admittedly.”

“Elaborate.”

“You and your sister, Cerulean Skies, were originally born in a small town called Stableton. You fled to Vanhoover as fillies when the population mysteriously disappeared one day. To support yourselves you relied on petty theft and lived under the tavern to keep warm.”

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

Arc continues. “One day, you met an officer in the military named Decimus whom saw something in you. He gave you an advance to join the military, which you used to buy a small house for your sister before you left with him.”

“That’s right, I did.”

“His sponsorship landed you in special forces training. Which you excelled at. Eventually, you and him became more than just officer and subordinate though. And much more than just friends.”

Tempest nods as she blushes slightly. “I… I can’t deny that. But… I still don’t understand how you know all of this.”

“As I’ve said in the past, when you’re the Hero of Light you just kinda pick things up. After all, you never really know when certain facts can come in handy.”

Tempest sighs. “I suppose so. After all, we were taught to use every advantage available to us in training as well.”

“So I can only surmise that you were dreaming about Decimus last night and that my touch somehow worked itself into your dream of him. How close was all of that?”

“Dead on admittedly.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Tempest grunts. “Don’t worry about it?! Somepony knows my deepest, darkest secrets and you tell me not to worry about it?!”

Arc shrugs. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“And what do I need to do in return for such a favor?”

“Nothing.”

Tempest frowns. “Nothing?”

“I told you before that this conversation would stay between us, and I meant it.”

Tempest sighs. “Guess I can’t really do much other than trust you in that.”

“Not really, I guess. You’ve been holding that in for a while though, I imagine.”

Tempest scoffs sadly. “More you know about me, huh?”

Arc shakes his head. “Just intuition on that one.”

“It… all happened so fast.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“That day in Canterlot.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Tempest bows her head. “Might as well. You pretty much know everything else already.”

Dropping her food pack into a bag, she sighs before looking at the stove and speaking.

“It was a day just like any other. Decimus and I had been recalled to Canterlot for a debriefing with the princesses. However, when we arrived in the capital, we found that so many others had been given the same orders.”

“To report to the princesses?”

Tempest nods. “Suspicious of the circumstances, Decimus told me that we were going to hold back in town rather than report directly to the castle as ordered.”

“Why though?”

“He wanted to gather information. Try to figure out what was going on.”

“What was your take on it though?”

Tempest shrugs. “At the time nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary in town. To me it looked like just another day.”

“But that wasn’t the case.”

“No. All at once a dark barrier started forming high overhead. Decimus and I ran toward the city gates with a number of the citizens nearby as the barrier quickly began to spread downward. I didn’t think we could make it, but Decimus just told me to keep running.”

“Since you’re here I’m assuming that you made it.”

“I did. But only by the skin of my teeth. And even then…”

She looks down at her hooves before continuing.

“…only because I felt a warm muzzle give my flank a push at the very last minute.”

“Captain Decimus pushed you through?”

Tempest nods. “I turned back, of course. But the barrier had already fallen, cutting us off. The last thing I heard him say before the barrier fully hardened was for me to run. Run, and not look back.”

“And you did?”

“The few citizens that made it through with me didn’t really know what to do. So I ran down the tracks to a call box there. It connected me with the incoming train that was due in just a few minutes. I warned them of what had happened and ordered them to pick us all up.”

“Where did you go?”

“The conductor told me that the closest major town was Ponyville. So that’s where we went. I was originally going to just drop the citizens off there and call Cloudsdale for aid. However, as I was making the call at the Ponyville Station… that’s when the sun fell and the moon rose.”

“And it’s remained that way ever since, huh?”

“Right. And the phone lines died with it.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Sounds like whatever happened in Canterlot was coordinated.”

“Agreed. But I didn’t have time to think about that, as the citizens of Ponyville were going crazy.”

“Scared?”

“Yeah. Royal Guards were chasing ponies down and arresting them. And the ponies on the train were in danger of being next. I was thinking about how best to defend them when a portal opened up and the leader of the Nightborn stepped through with some of his acolytes.”

“Moonlit Dusk came to get you?”

“Indirectly, yes. As his acolytes opens portals to call forth their… creatures, Moonlit Dusk spoke to me. Apparently he was just executing orders from Princess Luna on some kind of a contingency plan.”

“The Lunar Base on the moon.”

Tempest nods. “I led everypony from the train through a portal as the Nightborn did their best to rescue those being pursued by the guards.”

“And the train itself?”

“It had cargo for Las Pegasus, so the conductor decided to stay put and keep going. Frankly I’m thinking he just wanted to get as far away from Canterlot as he could.”

“But how did you meet up with Cherry and Spitfire then?”

“They were brought to the moon by a second extraction team that Moonlit Dusk sent to Dodge Junction.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Just the two towns?”

Tempest sighs. “Yes. It was all he had supplies to support at the time.”

Arc frowns. “And the rest of the country? You just left them to fend for themselves.”

“We sent out broadcasts on all frequencies advising everypony to relocate to the closest major city.”

“Baltimare, Manehattan, and Las Pegasus.”

“There is strength in numbers.”

Arc shakes his head. “Look, I’m sure you’ve been trained extensively on how to deal with every imaginable situation. Good, bad, and probably even apocalypse level stuff. But I don’t really understand how you could even consider abandoning such a large percentage of the population.”

Tempest looks away. “It… wasn’t an easy choice to make. But this was the will of Princess Luna.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“According to Moonlight Dusk, in the event of extreme crisis he was to select two small towns and relocate their populations to the moon. This wasn’t to save their lives though.”

“What else…?”

Tempest cuts him off. “To safeguard the entire pony race. We were to remain on the moon until the danger had been dealt with before returning in order to rebuild and repopulate the land of Equestria again.”

Arc mutters to himself. “Kind of like Queen Faust did.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Just thinking of a certain… historical parallel.”

Tempest nods. “I’m sure it’s been done in the past, yes. But you have to admit that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

Arc sighs. “Yes, I suppose that does make sense from a logical and tactical standpoint.”

“Why do I get the feeling that there’s a really big ‘but’ incoming?”

“I’ve… been in that position myself before.”

Tempest sighs. “Where you had to make a choice over saving somepony you cared about and saving a great many more?”

“Yeah.”

“So you agree with me then?”

Arc is silent for a time. Eventually, he looks to Tempest soberly and speaks.

“What I’m about to tell you is top, TOP secret, Tempest.”

“I’ll keep it to myself.”

“Quite some time back one of the princesses was kidnapped and taken to a foreign land.”

“What?!”

Arc holds up a hand to calm her. “My personal squad along with three others left to rescue her. During the battle to escape, all but one of us was critically injured. And that one nearly died in the final leg of our flight from that land.”

Tempest bows her head. “Their sacrifice was not in vain.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t leave them behind.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “But I thought you were there to save a princess.”

“Right, I was.”

“But their safety should have taken priority over all else then.”

Arc shakes his head. “I wasn’t leaving anyone behind.”

“Why though?!”

“All of us had been through so much thus far. We were almost like family by that point. They didn’t deserve to be left behind do die in a foreign land.”

“And if things hadn’t gone the way you had planned?”

Arc clenches a fist. “The thought of leaving someone behind wasn’t something I could do. While I know that probably goes against everything you’ve ever been taught. But it’s how I do things.”

Tempest shakes her head. “Did the princess get home safely?”

Arc nods. “Yes. And the entire team recovered as well, given time.”

“Sounds like it all worked out in the end. Somehow.”

A voice rings out nearby.

“That it did.”

Turning their heads, the pair see King Tugem walking towards them alone. They instinctively stand as he approaches. Arc is the first to speak.

“Good morning, sir.”

Tempest bows slightly. “Thank you for your… hospitality.”

“Have you had time to consider our proposal?”

Tugem nods. “I have, yes.”

He looks to the corridor from whence he came before continuing.

“But then again, I never went far.”

Arc frowns. “I don’t recall the Throne Room being that close though.”

“It isn’t.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “You mean…?”

“I spent yesterday night in the corridor.”

Arc gasps. “But… why?”

Tugem chuckles. “To think.”

Tempest raises an eyebrow. “I can imagine a few better places to do such a thing.”

“Yes, well… I wanted to get to know you two a bit better. And what better way than to wait, watch, and listen?”

He looks to Arc before continuing.

“You treat your subordinate well, Hero of Light.”

“She’s not technically under me.”

Tempest shrugs. “It’s complicated.”

Tugem continues. “Nevertheless, I now know that the Hero of Light possesses a Kind and noble soul. He makes decisions with his heart. Albeit foolishly sometimes.”

Looking to Tempest, he nods.

“And you make yours with logic and reason. Cold and calculating, like a viper’s bite.”

Tempest scoffs. “Somepony has to make the difficult choices!”

“Indeed. However, you too have a softer side for someone special.”

Tempest blushes slightly as she grimaces and looks away. Chuckling, the king goes on.

“I do believe that we shall make excellent allies. At least if this is the caliber of individuals Equestria contains, that is.”

Arc appears hopeful. “So we can count on your aid?”

Tugem nods. “Yes, Hero of Light Arc. We shall aid you in locating your missing mares.”

Tempest grins. “And any troop movements or strange activities as well?”

Arc quickly chimes in. “We shall repay you for any helpful knowledge you can procure for us, of course.”

Tugem puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “That only leaves the matter of how to contact you with our findings.”

Tempest points a hoof up. “I have a long distance transmitter upstairs in my quarters. However, it doesn’t have enough power to reach us on the moon.”

Arc turns to Tempest. “How about Manehattan?”

“That would work, yes.”

Arc looks to Tugem. “I’ll put you in touch with that town’s mayor. He’s been looking for these mares pretty much since this mess started.”

Tempest nods. “Mayor Shining Armor has the training to coordinate such a thing, yes.”

Tugem smiles. “We shall speak to him later this morning. However, using only words to describe our desires isn’t exactly the best way to share information. Were we face to face this would be much easier.”

Tempest smirks. “Not to worry there. The transmitter has both audio and visual signals. He can show you maps and additional information as needed. I can run the device down to the entrance if that would be helpful.”

Tugem nods. “It would be, yes.”

Arc motions for Tempest to follow him. “I’ll give you a hand with that.”

Sometime later they switch on the device. As it warms up, Tempest turns to the king.

“We may be far underground, but the antennae is on the roof so we should have excellent reception still.”

Arc grimaces. “I sure hope so.”

A moment later Shining Armor’s face appears on the screen. He appears a bit surprised as he looks to Arc and speaks.

“This is a surprise, sir. I wasn’t aware that anypony was still broadcasting on this frequency.”

“We needed a secure connection. But I believe that I’ve found some help for you in locating the Element Bearers.”

Stepping to one side, Arc motions for the king to approach. As he does so, Arc continues.

“Mayor Shining Armor, I’d like you to meet King Tugem of the Ogre Nation. He rules over a tribe of ogres in… an undisclosed location.”

Tugem nods respectfully. “Good day to you.”

Arc continues. “His forces are ready and willing to help us in this regard.”

Tugem chimes in. “I look forward to working with you, Mayor Shining Armor.”

Shining Armor smiles. “Likewise, your majesty.”

“It is likely that we both can learn much about one another in this.”

Arc clears his throat. “In any case, I need to be returning to the Lunar Base. The two of you can talk about how best to begin the search.”

Shining Armor salutes. “Yes sir. And thank you for the aid.”

Nodding to Tempest, she follows him back toward the hatch. Stepping through it, the pair return to the orphanage and walk down the corridor together. Arc turns to Tempest as he speaks.

“That’s one more problem delegated.”

“Yes. But do you think they’ll really be able to do it?”

“I think so, yes. In any case, we’ll have to tell Cherry that regular shipments of food will need to be sent here.”

“Agreed. Best to keep our new ally happy.”

As they reach the orphanage’s Main Hall, Tempest stops and looks around for a few moments. Arc notices this and calls out to her.

“Something wrong?”

“I was just… thinking about something.”

“Oh?”

“My past.”

“Is this about what we talked about earlier?”

Tempest shakes her head. “Not really.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’ve… had numerous roles since joining the military. Some I enjoyed while others I didn’t.”

Gesturing with a hoof to the building around them, she continues.

“I wanted to be the matron of the orphans as a bit of a break from the norm. But also to try and give back to my country. Give the orphans something I never had growing up.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “And what’s that?”

“A fighting chance.”

“I don’t quite get your meaning.”

“My sister and I didn’t really have any kind of training in much more than ABCs and basic math. So when things went sideways, we didn’t really know what to do. How to survive in a harsh environment.”

She puts a hoof on a window sill and looks outside as a cool rain begins to fall.

“I wanted to teach the orphans how to be better than I was at that age. However, my original goal blinded me to that which was right in front of me.”

“And what was that?”

“Back then, I thought that the ends justified the means. That everything I did was in their best interests. But one day my assistant fainted while she was teaching a class. I called for the hospital and they took her in for an examination.”

“Coco Pommel.”

Tempest nods. “She was sick. Very sick actually. Thin… gaunt… and literally starving.”

“It would appear that she recovered nicely.”

“That she did. And when she returned, I stepped down and promoted her to acting-matron before returning to Canterlot for reassignment.”

“The foals really seemed to like her. At least from what I could see the other day.”

Tempest sighs. “She’s loved by them, yes. Moreso than I imagined. Coco Pommel has been able to move past her foalhood traumas and raise them. However, I still advise her on activities which build cooperation and critical thinking.”

“Do you regret how you did things though?”

“Every day since I resigned, yes. While I was honestly just trying to help them become strong, for their own good… I didn’t realize at the time just how hard I was being on them.”

“I still don’t understand how you couldn’t see that your methods were so flawed though.”

Tempest bows her head. “At the time I saw results as being the only metric by which to measure success. How well somepony can protect the land and its inhabitants being paramount over all else.”

“But…?”

“But I had lost sight of the true goal. Protecting the citizens. Whom those orphans were.”

Arc puts a hand on her shoulder. “Look, Tempest… what you did was certainly terrible. But the fact that you were able to recognize it before something even worse happened speaks volumes.”

“I raised Coco Pommel from a very small filly. I knew her inside and out. However, I still didn’t see her wasting away under that robe of hers.”

“Have you spoken to her about it?”

Tempest nods. “At length, yes. When she first took over I called her every day to help acclimate her to the role.”

“And the orphans?”

“Mostly I just stayed away from Vanhoover at first. But I decided to do what I could to help them get everything they needed.”

“Like what?”

“Better beds, proper maintenance on the building, textbooks, sufficient toys, and the most healthy foods.”

“As a good matron should.”

Tempest groans. “But it took me leaving my position to do that.”

“It’s like you said before. All you wanted was to make them into the best that they could be. You leaving was what they needed most.”

“I suppose that’s true. However, it doesn’t change what I did to them.”

“Then do your best to fix it, as you are. And show them all that you can be a better mare.”

Tempest sighs. “Things between us are changing. Slowly, of course. But there isn’t anything I can do to erase the past.”

“Good.”

Tempest turns to him, confused. “Good?”

“That you realize your mistakes and are actively trying to make up for them.”

“I’ve thought about it for a long time now. And I was treating my role at matron as I did every other one. Doing my best for Decimus.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Decimus?”

“He’s the one whom gave me a chance when no one else did. So everything I do is for him. At least now that I think about it.”

“And that’s not actually a bad thing, mind you.”

Tempest bows her head. “Even though… he’s probably gone.”

“Gone?”

“There’s been no word from him since the barrier went up over Canterlot.”

“But he might just be holed up somewhere waiting this thing out.”

Tempest sighs. “I hope so. But we both have numerous ways of getting messages to one another outside of normal channels.”

“Can I assume you’ve tried contacting him too?”

Tempest nods. “Every day since that time. It’s always the same message with no response.”

Closing her eyes, she continues.

“Special Agent Tempest to Captain Decimus. Requesting immediate communication.”

“It’s not much.”

“Such is procedure though. Before verification of a secure link is established I can’t really say much more than that.”

Arc gestures to the front doors. “Then why don’t we head back to the Lunar Base so you can send out today’s message?”

Tempest sighs. “Sounds like a plan. Or at the very least, the only thing I can do at this point.”

Holding up a gauntlet, Arc opens a portal and the pair step through together.