As night falls, Arc and Scootaloo walk down a cobblestone road together toward the train station. Mares and stallions celebrate all around them as the entire city appears to be alive. Scootaloo looks around.
“Looks like everypony liked the speech.”
Arc seethes. “Yeah!”
“Big Brother?”
“Celestia, she… she REPLACED ME!”
“What are you…?”
“Remember what that captain we rescued said back in Vanhoover?! I’m Hero of Light Arc! And she just gave away my position to HIM!”
Scootaloo shrugs. “He doesn’t really seem like all that bad a stallion.”
“Decimus… I must’ve been fighting him for a reason back then!”
“It sounds like an important job. Somepony needs to be doing it, right?”
“Maybe. But they could have at least verified my death first, or something!”
Scootaloo sighs. “Then they’d know for sure you were alive and be actively hunting you. Trust me when I say that this is a good thing.”
Arc grunts. “I suppose it is. But it just really bothers me that everyone just so casually cast me aside.”
“What about the new princess? Maybe she could help you.”
“While I do have fragments of memories with her in them, I’m not sure that’s the way to go about this.”
“Well, we have to get to the Dragon Lands somehow.”
“I know. But we don’t really have anyone to turn to in that regard.”
“Maybe we should call it a night? We could sleep on the problem and take a look at it again in the morning.”
“I don’t really see how that would…”
Scootaloo suddenly stops and points ahead of them.
“That might be our solution!”
Arc looks to see a shop with a display of dragon scales in its window.
“I wonder if those are real.”
Scootaloo grins. “If they are…!”
“…they must know where to find real dragons! We find the dragons, we find a way to the Dragon Lands!”
Entering the shop, Scootaloo walks up to the clerk on duty.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
“Can I help you, Scarlet Filly?”
“I hope so.”
She points to the display.
“Can you tell me if those dragon scales are real?”
“Oh yes indeed. We have a supplier that brings them to us from, well… I don’t actually know the exact location they’re taken from.”
“Please, ma’am! It’s very important that I find a dragon!”
The mare sighs. “Very well. The crates that arrive, along with a number of other goods, are marked as coming from Trottingham. If you ask around they might be able to point you in the right direction.”
“Thank you very much!”
Scootaloo trots out the door as Arc falls into step behind her.
“Now all we have to do is take the train to Trottingham!”
Arc grins. “Seems simple enough. Let’s head to the station and see if they have a direct route.”
Stepping onto the platform Scootaloo waits her turn in line. Walking up to the ticket booth she looks at the stallion behind the glass. He speaks in a monotone voice.
“Destination?”
“Trottingham.”
The stallion rolls his eyes.
“Very funny, miss. Now then, where do you really want to go?”
Scootaloo frowns. “I really need to get to Trottingham!”
Looking past Scootaloo the stallion calls out.
“Next!”
A burly stallion pushes past Scootaloo. Stomping away the little filly grits her teeth.
“What’s his problem?!”
“No idea.”
“Where is Trottingham anyway, Big Brother?”
Arc shrugs. “I don’t know. Let’s find someplace a bit more private and check the map.”
Looking around, Scootaloo spots a storage shed with an open door. Walking toward it she and Arc slip inside. Pulling the map from his backpack, Arc unrolls it and lays it on the floor in front of them. After a couple minutes Scootaloo frowns.
“Where is it?!”
“It’s gotta be on here somewhere.”
Arc groans and points.
“There it is.”
“An island?”
“Looks like.”
“No wonder that stallion thought we were joking.”
Arc sighs. “Well, he still could’ve said something.”
“So I guess now we need a ship to get there.”
“Yeah. Let’s see…”
He looks over the map before continuing.
“It would appear both Baltimare and Manehattan are cities on the coast. One of them would probably have ships that could take us there.”
Scootaloo points a hoof. “Baltimare is closer to Canterlot.”
“Right. But I’m guessing Manehattan would be more likely to take us there as it’s a much shorter boat ride.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“Take the train to Manehattan and see about finding a boat from there.”
“Alright. Back to the ticket booth?”
Arc nods as he rolls up the map. “Back to the ticked booth.”
A short time later Scootaloo again approaches the stallion behind the glass.
“One ticket to Manehattan please. Private room.”
Nodding, the stallion takes her bits and pushes a ticket to her. Stepping aside to look it over, she grins.
“Looks like our train leaves in an hour.”
“Good, that means we can board. And good job remembering to get us a private room.”
Scootaloo nods. “Yes sir! I know what you like!”
“It’s more about not being discovered and having to fight off the other passengers, you know.”
“And it’s more scenic.”
“That too.”
Entering the train, Scootaloo hands her ticket to the uniformed mare. After escorting the filly to the cabin, she bows and leaves. Wasting no time, Scootaloo closes the door and opens the window a few inches. A strange mist flows through it and congregates at the center of the cabin as Arc rematerializes.
“That was MUCH easier!”
“I’ll say. Smuggling you aboard last time was quite the exploit.”
Arc shudders. “Yeah. I had to jump over several ponies to avoid bumping into them in the narrow corridors.”
Scootaloo giggles. “Well no more of that.”
She yawns and rubs her eyes.
“But I’m kinda tired from all the excitement. Think we could turn in early?”
Arc chuckles. “I suppose so. However we’ll miss the nightlife.”
“Yeah, well… we can party another time.”
“It’s fine. I’m not much for such things anyways.”
“Is that because we’re on the run, Big Brother?”
“Maybe. Not actually sure.”
“So you might actually be really sociable?”
“I guess.”
“That’s another thing we’ll figure out when you get your memories back!”
Arc sighs as he sits down on the lower bunk. “Yeah.”
“You’re not looking forward to it?”
“Well, kinda. I mean, I do want to know a few things, yes. It just means leaving this current life behind.”
“What do you mean?”
“No responsibilities other than you and me. Being the Hero of Light sounds like a lot of work.”
“You must’ve liked it to get so upset when somepony else took the job though.”
“I… guess.”
Scootaloo jumps in Arc’s lap and puts a hoof on his shoulder as she looks him in the eye.
“Nopony’s going to make you take the potion when we make it. But do you really want to spend the rest of your life wondering what you left behind?”
“N-no. No I don’t.”
“Then let’s see this through together!”
Arc chuckles. “Yeah. After a good night’s sleep though.”
He flops down on the bunk as Scootaloo looks to him.
“Um… Big Brother?”
“Hm?”
“I was just wondering something.”
“What is it?”
“When you get your memories back… what’s going to happen to me?”
“You’ll come live with me, of course. That is, until we find you a real home.”
“Promise?”
Arc smiles. “Yes. But what’s this all of a sudden?”
“Sorry. I was just a bit worried that you’d leave me.”
“Not a chance.”
Scootaloo grins. “Thanks.”
The pair fall asleep as the train begins its journey east. Late the following evening they pull into Manehattan Station. With a screech of brakes the train stops. Scootaloo peeks through the curtains.
“Looks like we’re here.”
Arc stands up. “Great. Let’s get going.”
“Where to?”
“How about the docks?”
Scootaloo raises an eyebrow. “It’s kinda late for that.”
“I know. But I was kinda hoping to keep this ball rolling.”
“That’s great and all, Big Brother. But if you want to keep us on a normal sleep schedule we should both get some rest now. Maybe there’s an inn nearby.”
Arc sighs. “Fine.”
Disembarking, they step down off the train. All the other passengers have long since walked away, and the pair now stand on an empty platform. Scootaloo gasps.
“This platform is HUGE!”
“I’ll say. Ornate too.”
The sound of hooves approaching them can be heard nearby. Several rough looking stallions walk over.
“Give us your money!”
Scootaloo appears confused. “Why?”
The leader pulls a club. “Because if you don’t, we’ll make dog food outta ya!”
Scootaloo scoffs. “I’d like to see you try!”
“Ha! You’re that Scarlet Filly everypony’s talking about, huh?”
The stallions behind them back away quickly. “S-Scarlet Filly?!”
Scootaloo nods. “Yeah!”
The leader turns back to his thugs. “I ain’t afraid of her!”
He looks over his shoulder to Scootaloo with a wicked smile.
“I could take this loser!”
Charging at her, the thug attempts to hoof her in the face. Scootaloo drops to the floor as she swings a small hoof. Arc steps forward and knocks the stallion’s legs out from under him, forcing him to the ground. Stepping forward together they approach the rest of the gang. All of them run away except for one.
“You!”
Swinging a club at her, Arc catches it before it hits Scootaloo’s head. She turns and bucks the stallion in the face as Arc throws him across the platform with a Telekinesis Spell to land in a heap. The leader slowly gets up.
“Oi, you’re gonna get it now!”
Charging forward, Scootaloo does the same with Arc. As the stallion and filly meet head to head Scootaloo jumps onto his face as Arc grabs him by the throat. Using Scootaloo’s momentum, he slams the stallion backwards into the pavement. The little filly hops off and walks away as the thug moans on the ground.
“Ugh… pretty tough… after all.”
Scootaloo stops and turns around. The leader weakly tries to get away as she walks toward him, but fails.
“I have a question.”
“Wha-what is it?!”
“I need to get to Trottingham. How would I find a boat to take me there?”
“It… you want the East Docks in the Warehouse District!”
“They have a passenger ship?”
“No, no! Cargo only!”
Scootaloo raises her hoof angrily. “Well, how does that help me?!”
“It’s the only way to Trottingham! That ship ferries miners to and from the island along with the stuff they buy and sell!”
“You still haven’t told me how…!”
“A shopkeeper or somepony important might need a courier for their goods! You could get a pass that way!”
Scootaloo smiles. “Thank you. You’ve been most helpful.”
The little filly turns and walks away, leaving the gang members to help their leader. Stepping out onto the street the pair look around.
“I thought Canterlot was bustling! But this place is just over the top thriving!”
Arc nods. “Yeah! Even though the sun has set everyone’s still running around like it’s daytime!”
“You still want to find the inn?”
“A place this big must have a number of them. But the ones around here look like they’d cost more than we’d ever have.”
“What should we do then?”
“There has to be something a bit less… luxurious around here somewhere. Let’s just start walking and see what we find.”
“Fine. But which way?”
“How about toward the Eastern Docks that punk told us about?”
“But it’s got to be closed this time of night.”
“True. But if it’s an industrialized area that means the rent would be cheaper.”
Scootaloo frowns. “That doesn’t sound very safe to me.”
“We wouldn’t go all the way there. Just far enough to get away from this red light district.”
Scootaloo points to a stallion pulling a yellow carriage with white and black checkered stripes.
“Maybe they could take us there.”
“I guess that would beat walking.”
“Do we have enough bits?”
“Yeah. Plenty.”
Scootaloo grins as she walks over to an empty taxi. “This is gonna be fun!”
As she hops aboard Arc grabs onto the back of the carriage. The stallion ‘driver’ turns to her.
“Where to?”
“Um…”
Arc calls out to her telepathically. “Have him take us to an inn somewhere close to the Eastern Docks.”
“I need a cheap place to stay that’s in the area of the Eastern Docks.”
Nodding, the stallion begins trotting. Looking around, Scootaloo marvels at the massive buildings all around her as she calls out to Arc.
“These houses and shops are WAY bigger than the ones we’ve seen elsewhere, Big Brother!”
“I’m guessing they’re the biggest in the land.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I can’t imagine anything could be bigger. But I do wonder how ponies could construct things like this with only hooves.”
“Magic and hooves working together maybe?”
“Probably. It’d be really cool to see how they do it though.”
“Should I ask the driver?”
Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Another time.”
Quite a long ride later they come to a somewhat run-down inn. The stallion turns to Scootaloo
“How’s this?”
Arc calls out to her. “It’ll do.”
“Just fine, thanks.”
Hopping down, she drops a bag of bits on the seat and heads into the guesthouse. A dimly lit lobby greets her with the smell of old furniture and mold. Scootaloo again calls out to Arc.
“You sure you want to stay here?”
“Not really. But it’s only for a day or so, right?”
“I hope so.”
Walking up to the front desk, Scootaloo taps a small bell that doesn’t appear to actually work. Knocking her hoof on the old wood, a mare steps out of the back and looks down at her.
“What is it?”
Scootaloo sets some bits on the counter. “I need a room.”
“Do you now?”
“Y-yes. Is that a problem?”
The mare shrugs as she writes something in a book. “Nah. We don’t ask a lot of questions around here, after all.”
Tossing the filly a key, she points toward the stairs.
“Up there and to the left.”
“Thanks.”
As Scootaloo walks up the stairs the mare shakes her head.
“Runaways… they get younger every year.”
Meanwhile, Arc and Scootaloo walk down the corridor to their room.
“I don’t see our number.”
Arc points a finger at a door. “That’s probably it.”
“Which one?”
“Oh, right… invisible.”
Kneeling down, Arc puts a hand on Scootaloo’s head and turns it to look at a door. She frowns.
“Are you sure? It doesn’t even have a number on it.”
Arc nods. “Look at the numbers of the rooms on either side of it. “
“213 and 215.”
“We’re 214. This has to be it.”
Scootaloo shrugs. “I guess.”
Sliding the key in the lock, Arc pushes the door open. Flicking the light switch illuminates a single bulb overhead. Several cockroaches scatter and the sounds of small claws running away fills the room. Arc sighs.
“Not the best in town, I’d wager.”
“Yeah. But like you said, it’s not long term, right?”
“I sure hope not.”
“Want to take a shower?”
“Probably should.”
Entering the bathroom they turn on the shower and wait. After several minutes the icy cold water begins to run at what can’t even be called lukewarm. Arc hurriedly bathes Scootaloo as her teeth chatter.
“What is wrong with this place?!”
“Probably not enough money for repairs.”
“I think my wings are shrinking!”
Arc chuckles. “They can’t get much smaller in your normal form.”
“Hopefully not!”
Finishing, Scootaloo jumps out of the shower as Arc drapes a towel over her.
“Get dried off while I clean up.”
Scootaloo nods as she shivers. “O-okay.”
She leaves the bathroom quickly. Sighing, Arc removes his undergarments and puts his head under the spigot to wash his hair.
“This is definitely… unpleasant.”
Completing his task as quickly as possible, Arc shuts off the water and dries himself off. Putting on fresh clothes, he leaves the bathroom. Stepping into the room he spies Scootaloo flapping her small wings as fast as she can in an effort to dry her coat.
“Looks like you survived that.”
Arc rolls his eyes. “It was a treacherous endeavor, but I rose above and endured.”
Scootaloo shivers as she giggles. “I wish I didn’t have all this fur right now. Your skin dries so easily!”
Arc shivers as he heads for the bed. “True. But it doesn’t do much for keeping me warm.”
“I guess that’s right. In any case, I’ll be over as soon as I finish over here.”
She flaps her wings even harder to speed the process.
“It’s alright. Just come to bed, Scootaloo.”
“But I’m still a bit damp.”
“So am I. Come on.”
Scootaloo runs toward the bed and hops on as Arc covers them both with a thin blanket. She quickly snuggles up to him and sighs contentedly.
“Warm now?”
“Getting there.”
“Me too.”
“Big Brother?”
“Hm?”
“Thanks.”
“What for?”
“Taking such good care of me.”
Arc smiles. “You’re welcome, Scootaloo.”
The filly yawns and smiles as Arc holds her close.
“Good night, Big Brother. I love you.”
Fragments of memories regarding Dinky saying those exact words fill Arc’s mind. He squeezes his eyes shut and mused to himself.
“I just HAVE to get my memories back! I… I have to know the truth!”
Lightly kissing the top of Scootaloo’s damp head, Arc smiles and falls asleep. Meanwhile, Twilight and Celestia enter a large room prepared just for her. Massive bookshelves line every stitch of wall and a large desk stands proudly in one corner.
“I hope this is to your liking, Twilight.”
Twilight gasps. “Like it? I LOVE IT!!!”
She throws her hooves around Celestia and embraces the alicorn excitedly as she continues.
“I knew you’d feel right at home here. Now then, for security reasons you’ll be doing your work and taking your studies here for the time being.”
“But I thought you were always against mixing personal spaces with administrative work.”
Celestia sighs. “And I still am. However circumstances have forced this compromise. Hopefully the danger will soon pass, and you and I can begin to rule as we should.”
“What about Luna?”
Celestia appears confused. “What about her?”
“She might come back and rule with us too. The same might one day be said of Cadance, right?”
Celestia purses her lips. “That is… unknown. In any case, we need to be ready, able, and willing to rule this nation together. Just the two of us.”
“But…!”
“Now then, it’s been a long day. Please lie down and get some sleep, Twilight.”
“Y-yes, Princess Celestia.”
Celestia giggles. “It’s just ‘Celestia’ to you now. Remember, now that you’re a princess you don’t need to be so formal.”
“I’ll… keep that in mind. Good night, princess.”
Celestia nods and leaves the room. As her guards rejoin and flank her, they escort her to her own room as she mused to herself.
“You’ll get into the swing of things before too long, Twilight. I have faith in you.”
Meanwhile, Twilight sighs as she walks over to her new bed and lies down. Staring up at the ceiling, she closes her eyes and falls asleep. Opening them a moment later she spies the now familiar gazebo. Walking over to it, Twilight sees Luna sitting on her haunches as she stares up at the moon.
“Luna?”
There is no response. Sitting down behind the elder alicorn, Twilight waits patiently for Luna to speak.
“That was… unexpected.”
“Which part?”
“I thought her idea to crown you the Princess of Friendship was just a ruse to lure me back to Canterlot. That’s why I didn’t come to the speech.”
Twilight looks back at her new wings and sighs. “But it wasn’t. I really am an alicorn now, aren’t I?”
Luna nods. “Yes. There’s no falsifying that.”
“This isn’t what I signed up for!”
“Oh?”
“I agreed to stay close to Princess Celestia in order to keep her safe! Not to become a princess!”
“Then why did you agree to it?”
“Because…! Because she was so insistent that another princess was needed by her side to balance her out!”
“And you don’t think that’s true?”
Twilight shakes her head vehemently. “No! She ruled just fine in the years before I met her!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Princess Celestia was always so calm and collected! She had everything under control at all times!”
“Are you so certain of that?”
“What do you mean?”
Luna bows her head. “The life of an alicorn princess isn’t all glitz and glamor. It’s also a very… painful experience.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Long hours, little real attention, and the knowledge that nothing but more servitude is in one’s future.”
“But I’ll get to spend it by Princess Celestia’s side!”
Luna turns and looks Twilight over in the moonlight. She steps forward and speaks slowly and clearly.
“This may be hard for you to believe or understand, but… the day will most likely come when you want nothing more than to be free of Celestia and your position.”
“How can you be so sure of that?”
Luna puts a hoof on her shoulder. “Because I’ve been there, Twilight.”