The Legend of Archenold

Chapter 3

The Real New Recruits

"Well you didn't get far now, did you?" The warden asks rhetorically. "You thought you'd get out undetected?" The three hang their heads down in shame of their failure. "Why so down? Don't you need some help out of that hole?" The warden asks in a light tone. Archenold looks up in disgust.

"Why would you want to help us?" The warden shakes his head as he holds out a hoof to help up Archenold.

"Because I'm against Cyphento. I saw him kill a girl I was starting to have feelings for." The three look at him raising an eyebrow.

"What about them?" AJ asks curiosly looking to the other three guards.

"They're close friends of mine. That and the big guy here lost his sister in the hands of Cyphento." The warden informs, patting the biggest rogue guard on the back in empathy.

"But... This don't make sense. How did y'all find us here?" Big Macintosh inquires.

"Because. We aided in the previous attempt to escape. We wanted to stop Cyphento before. Who's to say we wouldn't try now?" The warden holds his hoof out again to help Archenold up. Reluctantly, Archenold grabs on and is helped up. The other rogue guards help Aj and Big Mac up. The warden pulls out a map. "You guys will want refuge somewhere close by for the night. It's starting to get late. I suggest you head down this path here." He points to a small, curvy line on the map. "Follow it down to the closest town. If you don't make it to the town, I know of a pony who might give refuge if she's nice." Archenold looks at the warden with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you know so much?" He asks with suspicion. The warden shrugs with a small smile.

"Like I said. I aided in the last escape attempt. That and being employed here for 32 years, you get to know the place like the back of your hoof. Anyways, if you have a cellphone, here's my number if you need anything." The warden gives Archenold a piece of paper with his number pre written on it. "Need any muscle, hacks, sabotage, just call. I'll try to get the job done. As long as its on the inside of this base." The warden starts to walk off with the rogue guards when Archenold pulls out an arrow, grabs the warden by the shoulder and points the arrow to his neck.

"Just be warned that I still don't completely trust you. Got that?" Archenold threatens. The warden just keeps smiling.

"Of course. You have my honest word." AJ chuckles.

"I see what you did there." Archenold looks back then releases the warden.

"You sure about this, warden? We're not walking into a trap or something?" Archenold asks, deep in thought.

"Like I said. You have my word." The warden walks off with the rogue guards, activating his com link. "This is warden CJ reporting back, nothing suspicious. Just a few newbies who needed... direction." He deactivates the com link as he heads back around the base to the front. Archenold gives an unsure look to AJ and Big Mac who just shrug, unsure themselves. With only one thing left to do, they travel down the path.

10 minutes later in the cell blocks...

The warden enters the room and sits at his desk tn starts working. After a while, he thinks he hears movement, despite the amount of inmates in the vicinity. He shrugs it off and starts working. He then thinks he hears the sound of metal tapping against metal. "What the hay...?" He reaches for the pistol at his waist when he sees the cell door open with Daring Do flying out of it, throwing a tactical knife at him. Reacting quickly, he ducks down for the knife to just miss his head. He gets up and reaches for Daring Do's whip as she flies at him with remarkable speed, hatred showing in her eyes. The warden grabs the whip and tosses it to Daring Do, causing her to stop flying at him, holding her whip, looking at it, puzzled.

"Slow down there. I thought you were trying to get me on your good side before you "died". It worked." Warden CJ activates his com link. "Hey, could you and the others come down here? We've got a friend." He hangs up, seeing Daring Do give a worried look.

"Who did you just call?!" daring Do interrogates worriedly.

"Relax. Just a couple of friends who will help you out of this damn facility." Warden CJ informs, letting Daring Do relax a little.

"Why should I trust you?" Warden CJ chuckles.

"You know, I was asked that just recently by some blue fellow who goes by the name Archenold." Daring Do goes wide-eyed. "I helped him escape earlier. They're on their way to plot revenge on Cyphento right now." Daring Do thinks hard for a moment when a squeaky door breaks the silence. "Good! You're here! Help Daring DO to the armory and equip her with a uniform and take her out the front. Say you're supposed to be on patrol." The rogue guards nod their heads as they are about to help Daring Do. She just pushes them off in defiance. "Relax, Daring Do. Don't you even know what will happen if you stay here? I explained the torture method when you first came to." Daring Do follows the guards in fear. "Oh, and it's probably best not to look for Archenold right way otherwise he might not want to go against Cyphento anymore because he'd know he spared your life." Daring Do nods in agreement. Soon enough, she is out of the base.

"Damn it! I'm so hungry!" Archenold complains as his stomach starts growling. He observes their surroundings to find a purple berry bush. "There!" Archenold runs towards the bush and is about to eat a berry when AJ stops him.

"Archenold, them berries are poisonous." Archenold throws it back into the bush as his stomach growls again.

"Celestia damn it, do any of you know how to make a bucking salad out any of any of this vegetation?!" Archenold inquires driven by hunger. The other two shake their heads no. "Bucking shit!" Then a voice comes out of nowhere.

"You know, you could come to my place for a few muffins." Archenold looks around to find the voice, only to hear chuckling. "You're funny." Archenold, AJ, and Big Mac turn around to see a light purple pegasus with blonde hair levitating as her wings flap up and down. "Hi! The name's Derpy Hooves!" The friendly pegasus greets. Archenold rises an eyebrow.

"Wait, you're Derpy?! You mean, The Derpy?" Archenold asks excitedly, noticing her eyes are not derped. "How come your eyes aren't derped up?" He asks curiously.

"That's because it only happens when I'm excited. Should happen in a matter of seconds though. Not many come down this road." She explains as her eyes start dis aligning. Taking note of her vision impairing, she stops levitating in the air, retracting her wings to her side to relax them. "Come with me! It's getting late, you know?" The three adventurers put a smile on their faces and follow Derpy to a rundown wooden hut. Then their smiles disappear.

"Whoa, wait a darn minute. You live here?" Apple Jack wonders.

"Eeyup." Derpy replies somehow triggering Big Mac's annoyance.

"How come you don't live in town?" Apple Jack asks in curiosity and worry.

"I...I was fired from my job as a mailmare. Started with a small group of ponies that complained about how I always messed things up. Got to other ponies and eventually to my boss who fired me. With no income, I was robbed of most of my bits due to taxes and food. I was forced to live outside of town where I wouldn't be taxed with my daughter Dinky. She eventually grew up to live her own life. She supports me by sending a small amount of her income to me. I'm surprised though. She makes quite a lot of money." Derpy explains. Archenold trots up to her and pats her on the back in empathy.

"I had a friend back in school when I was young who was picked on for being a blank flank. lots of ponies resented her too. Then came a cutesenera and a couple other blank flanks showed up and stood up for her. Then they got more attention after that. Good attention. Things'll turn out alright in the end." Archenold consoles. Derpy just smiles weakly.

"thanks for the story." Archenold's stomach growls ruining the moment. He chuckles nervously. "So, how about those muffins?"

Meanwhile, quite a bit away from the main base...

Daring Do nods to the rogue guards who nod back and head back to the base. Daring Do then rushes off into the dark woods of the Everfree forest. Not knowing where to head to, she keeps running, being cautious enough to avoid poison joke. After heading quite far into the woods, she sees a dark, hooded figure.

"H...Hello?" She asks it. Silence answer her. instead, the figure moves in a different direction than daring Do was headed and gestures for her to follow. Hesitantly, she trots behind the hooded figure, still at a distance. "Where are you taking me?" Still no reply. Soon enough, they come across a familiar tree set up to be a house. "Why does this all seem familiar?" She heads inside after the hooded figure when it all comes clear. Looking at the hooded figure draw back her hood revealing herself, Daring Do is struck with a sense of joy. "Zecora!"