Distant hums and melodies fill the air as the two men, reflections of one another, share a glance. The visage of Crimson smiles, starting sarcastically, "If it ain't little James 'Crimson' Sky."

"Che," Crimson sounds while sitting up, "thought sayin' my own name was weird. It's worse when another you says it." He rubs his forehead anxiously. This other Crimson appears to be wearing the same exact attire that he typically wore back home, his working clothes; grey shirt, grey slacks, black boots, brown belt and brown duster. "... I heard... somethin'. A voice callin' me. I tried to look at it, 'r... well, metaphorically look at it. Find where it was comin' from... now I'm here."

"Suppose you are."

"I ain't gonna beat around the bush. The hell happened to me? The rock, the voices, the... just-- what happened? Who are you?" Crimson delivers his questions with visible distress.

"Easy, easy, calm down. There ain't no rush."

Crimson keeps his right hand over his forehead, disgruntled and worried. "... I ain't dead, am I?"

The other Crimson chuckles, "Nah, nah, not even close. Let me explain, would'ya?" Crimson nods despondently, keeping his unsteady eyes on the manifestation of himself. "Who am I? You, obviously. But more specifically, I'm the you-est you you can be."

“… The fuck?”

The other Crimson nods, "I know it don't make a lot of sense when I say it like that, but I'm basically the part of you that holds every aspect of yerself. Think of me like... like yer arm, if yer arm had its own personality. You control it, it's apart of you, but all the things you've done with it make it what it is. Your right arm. The one that swings the sword. Full-hearty 'n reckless. Your left arm. The one that holds the shield. Brave and faithful. Think of me like this. I'm the arm of yer very core, the embodiment of all the things you've done. I know this because... well, let's say you become your best friend and your worst enemy each time you retrospect."

"That's..." he purses his lips, finding both understanding but also great confusion. "... But you're not... currently with me. Is that why you showed up to help me lift that rock?"

"You only helped yerself, partner."

"Hmh, ain’t that quaint. I'm comin' to realize I remember everythin' that escaped me before. 'Me helpin' myself' was the solution to that, I reckon.” Crimson's eyes fall to the grass. "... I don't get it. None of this makes a lick-a damn sense."

"Life's a mystery, it's who 'a you not to stress over it."

"But how did I help myself? I didn't do nothin' particularly different other than try to lift that rock."

"That's the big question. The only thing I can really say for sure is that somethin' happened to us when we got dropped in Equestria. Somethin' unsavory."

"How did we even end up there? Were we magically teleported or somethin'?"

"Ain't got a clue," Crimson's manifestation shrugs.

"Shiet," Crimson rubs his eyes, sighing deeply. "So, if I ain't dead, where am I?"

The other Crimson rises to his feet, “Welcome to the Rift, or should I say, welcome back to the Rift, our little slice of paradise. It's a place that doesn't exist, but it exists for us."

"... Like a dream?" Crimson stands up as well, standing shoulder to shoulder with his manifestation as he stares around at the greyscape.

"Maybe. Really, this place is what we make it. Coined the name 'Rift' from Vigil, remember?"

"Yeah... now I do. Just... this feels so surreal."

"Which comes as a surprise to me. This place is normal fer us. I assume that the Equestria situation warped yer memory 'r perception."

"So, uh... what do we do in this here Rift?"

"We can do whatever we want here. Literally anything.”

“… Anything?”

"Anything. Now I know you'll ask, so... I ain't too sure how it all works, probably just one of those things that is but you never know why. I ain't complainin', this place is a nice retreat when things get stressful in the waking world."

"Why's everythin' grey?"

"Jesus, I really am askin' the basics here."

"Just answer the god damn question."

"Because we want it that way. Don't have to be grey. Like I said, we control this place, leaf by leaf, color by color."

"... Still don't answer why everythin's grey.”

"We are why. Viola is why. What’s our favorite color?"

"... Ah. Yeah. Grey. The blending in between is beautiful."

"'Ol family Sky ideology."

"Yeah... christ, this is a lot to take in."

“For you 'n me both. I wish we had the answers, partner, but moseying around ain't gonna give 'em to us."

“Suppose yer right. I just wanna understand why this happened all of a sudden. I was just liftin’ a rock.'"

"Wasn't just liftin' a rock, it was yer resolve. Yer Arch was dormant, 'n yer will drew it out.”

Crimson's brows line the top of his eyes, “Arch. … That was one’a the words I heard in them whispers."

"Hm. You weren’t kiddin’ when you said you couldn’t remember much."

"And it’s bullshit. What happened to me? I ain’t really had the time to sulk over it, but seriously. What the fuck? I abandoned Viola, all to wind up in a god forsaken horse planet – somethin’ out of a fuckin’ fairy tail."

"Can’t tell you the how or why, but I can ease yer mind. Viola is fine. Completely fine. I know you’re missin’ a lot of pieces right now, but luckily fer you, I’m here to help you remember.”

Crimson lets his gaze fall and he sighs despondently, still very apparently stressed and in internal turmoil.

The visage smiles down at him sympathetically, crossing his arms. "Listen, we ain't got all the answers, but look on the bright side. Michael's dead. He's dead and gone, and we've only got our entire lives ahead of us. Shit gets hard, but that's the way the ball rolls. Shit happens that don't make sense, but that's life. We're good at tacklin' all that, and we'll keep doin' it too. We've made it this far, right?"

"... Right."

"And the best part? Viola is safe. That's really the only thing that matters. Once we're done in Equestria and we figure out how the hell to get back home, we've got a life-time of happiness with her headed our way. Heck, even if we don't get the bliss we always wanted, wasn't she the only thing that really mattered? At the end of the day, no matter what happens to us, she'll be safe and will be able to live the life she always deserved."

Crimson's solemn face slowly shifts to passive contemplation. The gently swaying flora, blown from a non-existent wind, breathes easiness into his soul. "... I give good pep-talks."

"I know I do. Now c'mon, reckon it’s time fer you remember." The manifestation turns and steps in front of himself. Once the mirrored pair stand facing each other, the manifestation lifts his hand and touches Crimson’s shoulder, and they stare deeply into each other's eyes.

Crimson's vision flashes, causing him to stumble back and grip his head. His body trembles while memories flood back into his head like a tidal wave. Memories of his father, brother, mother, and specific events tailored to his Arch.

After the two connect, the reality around him blurs and contorts briefly. He shakes his head, blinking his dizziness away and fixing his posture to stand up completely straight. He looks around now, his eyes taking a droopy, lazy look. They passively glow, vibrant with an energy akin to golden magma swirling in his irises. His attire has now taken that of his soul, his working clothes, and like a gentle mist surrounding him, golden Arch dances around his form.

He feels her knocking in a distant plane, wanting to enter in his paradise. Crimson slowly closes his eyes, the world around him blackens as his eyelids fall.

"Huh!" she gasps suddenly.

Crimson reopens his eyes, seeing a girl standing inches away and facing him. Her one eye, uncovered by her jet black hair, glances around quickly in her awe. She finally rests her gaze on her brother, staring up to look at him. Her eye, usually cyan in color, glows golden just like her brother's. The tiny 'o' that is her mouth slowly widens as a smile replaces her shock.

"Hey, Vi," Crimson smiles back at her. Without a word, Viola moves in and hugs him tightly, gripping at the back of his duster coat as if hanging on for dear life. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she murmurs against his chest quietly.

"... 'M sorry for suddenly leaving you... I really had no idea."

"It's okay," she replies simply, the tone of her voice remaining quiet and tender.

"... How's everythin' back home?" Crimson asks, tilting his head to get a better look at her face as she smothers it against him. One single tear forms at the corner of her tightly closed eye, trembling, until it finally runs down her cheek. She does not say anything, she doesn't bother responding to that question. Crimson's smile widens slightly, taking the hint and giving in to the moment. He embraces her just as fully as she holds him, and they remain together in silence.

A place, where time has no meaning, where reality is his to shape, the Rift. Crimson remembers everything. He is happy to remember everything. He is happy to finally have his sister back with him, even just like this. While in the Rift, an Arch Angel's body remains back in the physical world, appearing as if they were simply asleep. Unfortunately, this means Viola is not there with him truly. Once she leaves Crimson's Rift, she will wake up alone once more.

The two siblings take all of the time in the multiverse to reconnect. Crimson tells Viola about the things he has seen, how he interprets them, and what he plans to do. He assures her that he will return to her soon, but Viola insists that he should take care of himself and understand what had caused him to suddenly relocate to the land of equines. There is something missing, and they both agree that they should figure it out before something like this happens again.

"... Are you sure that you'll be fine, Vi?" Crimson asks as he sits down on the grass with his sister, arm coupled around her to hold her against himself.

"I will... as long as you let me visit you every now and then."

"Of course I will. I'd do it even if the world tried to hold me back. Feel free to come and go from my Rift whenever you like... since I know you don't exactly like yours. ... You never really told me why you don't like your own Rift. What's wrong with it?"

"... I just don't like it."

"C'mon, Vi. There's gotta be somethin' about it in specific that you don't like. You can literally shape it however you want!"

"... It doesn't have you in it."

"Is that really it? I could visit your Rift. Boom, problem solved."

"... I like yours better."

Crimson chuckles, "Well, guess I can't argue with that."

“... Do you need to leave soon?”

"Sadly. I wish I could take you with me... I ain't too keen on the idea of havin' to leave you again.”

"... Crimson?"

"Mhm?"

"... Could you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"... Could you make our house here?"

Crimson gently squeezes her a bit tighter to reaffirm the embrace they share. "Only if you promise me that you won't stay here forever. I know I said you can be here as long as you like, but remember that you've still gotta live life on the other side."

"... I promise."

"... Look to your left."

Viola turns her head, glancing past her brother to see a single-floor home, made of wood and cinder block, perched in the middle of the grassy landscape as if it was always there. Her eye shimmers, looking back towards her brother with emotion welling in her heart. Crimson smiles down at her, leaning in to plant a kiss on her forehead.

"Stay safe for me, Vi."

Viola nods solemnly, closing her eyes and wiping a tear before it manages to run. The warmth around her vanishes, and when she reopens her eyes, the red-haired man is nowhere to be found.

---

Crimson's world churns back into tangibility, as if he was feeling the reverse state of being drugged. His eyes slowly creak open to stare at a ceiling, Moonlight’s ceiling. He shifts his hazel orbs around to see he was set back in her bed. The lamp is still on, it seems. There is only one sound to be heard, and it's the gentle breathing coming from someone to his right. He sits up slowly, grunting while glancing towards the sound. His face lights up in amusement as he sees Moonlight asleep on her desk next to her ANA device. He notices broken quills and crumbled up parchment all over her work station, indicating the possibility that she had quite a long night. He gazes at the sleeping mare, her glasses are nearly falling off of her muzzle while she rests her cheek against the table.

Crimson takes this opportunity to get some air. He removes the soft, comfortable blankets that cover him and he stands up. His vision swirls horribly for a moment, he internally scolds himself for standing up too fast. Once reality fixes itself, he makes a path out of Moonlight's room, being as quiet as possible. He heads downstairs and exits the glass sliding door, entering the backyard.

The sounds of the night fill the air. Crickets chirp, leaves rustle in the calm breeze, and some wind chimes jingle near the sliding door. The moon is much larger in Equestria compared to Earth. He looks up at it, smiling and waving his hand to the moon.

After a moment together, his smile fades, replaced by his resting face as he turns himself around to face his arch-nemesis, the rock line. He stomps over, standing begrudgingly before the smallest rock. He crouches down and picks it up, holding it with one hand while examining it. Just a boring plain old rock... but with millions of stories to tell.

He sets it down, moving to the next rock. And the next one, and the next one. He lifts every rock with ease, now standing before the 209lb rock. He squats down, grips it, and rises with it. It is as if the rock was a hundred pounds lighter. He sets it down carefully, moving to the next rock.

He now looms over the 300lb rock. He eyes it lazily, giving a stare that shows he isn't impressed. He crouches down, gripping it into both hands. His eyes begin to glow a soft, golden color, which shine methodically in the sleepy night. He rises, lifting the rock up and holding it against his chest with little effort. He holds it for a few seconds, then he crouches back down, setting it on the grass and letting out a sigh. Crimson can't help but stare at the 300lb rock, smiling quite ridiculously. "... Thanks, partner," he murmurs to it.

“Crimson?” asks Moonlight from behind him.

He turns his head, looking over to the sleepy-eye pony just now entering the backyard from the sliding door. “Ah, sorry, did I wake you?”

She shakes her head, taking off her glasses with her magic, rubbing her eyes with her hoof. “No, it’s okay, I was only half asleep. I heard you get up from the bed. … I’m amazed that you’re up and about.” Her worried eyes scrutinize the man. Her well-maintained self, accompanied by the deep blue color of her coat, shines under the moonlight, fitting for her name. “I-Is… everything okay?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Thanks for helpin' me back into bed."

She blushes lightly, realizing that maybe he was somewhat conscious when she guided him to the bed. "Y-You're welcome. I… y-you… you really are something. When Celestia told me that she was going to send me something special, I really didn’t expect... ‘this.’”

He snickers, "To be fair, I don't think even she knew what she was sendin' you." He turns around, walking towards the 300lb rock again.

Moonlight furrows her brows. “… What are you doing?”

He vaults over the rock and turns around, facing Moonlight. He crouches down, grasping it with both hands.

Moonlight gasps, “W-What? Wait! No! Not this again!”

Crimson takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes… “Hrh.” He raises the rock without a hint of struggle, holding it against his barren chest.

Moonlight's pupils slowly expand in awe. Crimson’s own orbs come open, revealing their glowing nature. Moonlight ogles them and whispers, “Your eyes..."

He crouches back down, setting the rock back in its place. His orbs cease their glowing, slowly fading into their regular hazel selves.

“That was… so effortless," Moonlight utters breathlessly as she walks closer to him. “I… I have so many questions, Crimson.”

“Let’s just say I had a little time with myself,” He smiles at her as she stares at him with mixture of stun and adore.

“Human… magic.” This realization strikes her like a stone. Her irises gleam with excitement. “This is incredible! I was trying to figure out what was happening to you ALL night! But nothing was working! Every hypothesis failed, every path lead to a dead end. Every smidgen of data was worthless!”

“I ain’t sure it’s ‘magic.’"

His words bring out confusion. Her eyes shift left and right, trying to process what he said. “If not magic… then what is it?”

“The name for it is Arch."

“Ark?” Moonlight questions. “Like the large transportation boat?”

Crimson shakes his head. “Pronounced like that, but spelt differently.”

“… A. R. C. H?”

"Bingo."

“How… peculiar. Did you come up with this name yourself?"

He shakes his head, “My dad told me what it was called. He knew a lot more about it than I do, but he didn’t pass on much about. Probably on purpose. I’ll try to explain everythin’ as best as I can, but I never learned the formalities of it.”

“That's terrible! How could you not take the time to learn about something so important to you?"

"There aren't exactly any books that tell me how to use my Arch, Moonlight. As far as I know, I'm the only one of my kind, and everything I've learned up to now was hard-fought."

"Oh... I see," Moonlight's lowers her head and her eyes fall to the ground. "P-Please excuse my rudeness."

Crimson waives it off with his hand and the shaking of his head. “You're okay, Moonlight. I know what you meant. Trust me, if there was a book labeled How to Arch Angel One-o-One, I'd scrutinize it in a heartbeat."

Moonlight giggles at his playful remark, smiling up at him. "Arch Angel. That's very pretty."

"Glad you think so. There’s somethin’ I actually wanted to talk to you about, Moonlight. It has to do with them magical anomalies that you’ve been readin’.”

“Of course. What about them?” she fixes her glasses with her hoof.

Crimson walks over to the picnic table that sits near the rock line. He takes a seat backwards, resting his elbows on the table. Moonlight follows his lead and sits down next to him.

“These anomalies. You said they started appearin’ about a week ago?”

“Indeed. I originally built my ANA device for studies of magic on untested objects, but it started going crazy. I wrote many letters to pen pals all over Equestria to see if any of them were experiencing any strange or anomalous magic. They all came back with positives, but none of them were sure what the cause was. They only saw the environmental corruption I was telling you about earlier. I wrote to them recently to see if they’ve been able to contain or remove the corruption, but I am... still waiting for their replies…” she pouts. Crimson looks at Moonlight as she speaks, occasionally nodding. “I remember you telling me you arrived here about a week ago as well. As I told you before, I have been assuming that the anomalies may have pulled you from another world or something along those lines. Does that sound crazy? Am I crazy?”

Crimson shakes his head, reaching over and patting Moonlight on hers. “If you're crazy, then so'm I, 'cuz honestly, I'm thinkin' you're right. You've got a real knack for makin' sense, so I reckon we're not the crazy ones.”

Moonlight moves her gaze away, adjusting her glasses again.

“What we can certainly all agree on is the fact that somethin’ needs to be done about them. If it’s causin’ serious problems, it needs to be dealt with. I ain't sure that I'm a special case, but if I'm not, and that magic crap's suckin' in things from other worlds, we've got a huge deal on our hands. It’s spreadin’, right?”

Moonlight fixes her mane and nods, “From what my fellow researchers said, yes, it is, though we do not know how fast. There’s still so much we don’t know about it yet.”

“Well, how’s about some good ol’ on-field research?”

“You mean go out… and travel?” she asks with skepticism, to which he nods. “… B-But it’s dangerous out there. I-I prefer staying. Here. In the comfort of my home, and…” Moonlight trails off as she sees Crimson’s unenthused orbs gawking at her.

“You’ll have me to protect you. Swear on it. I’ll do everythin’ I can to keep you safe if things get rough. I know we don’t know much about each other yet, but I know a thing or two ‘bout tusslin’. Trust me on that.”

Moonlight’s ears drop to her head and she looks away again.

"... Moonlight?" he leans towards her slightly. "... You don't trust me, do you?"

"It... It isn't that I don't trust you, b-but... I don't... like the idea... the idea of having to leave my home..."

"... Moonlight."

"Crimson, please understand me. Please understand that I don't want to leave my home. I'm happy here. I-I don't want to go anywhere else."

"... How're you expected to figure out what's causin' the magic problems if you stay here?"

"B-By doing what I've always done, write letters to my peers and submit statistics to the Royal Research team."

"Don't you think you could get so much more done if you actually went out 'n got the experience? You aren't limited by yer surroundings, you've got the world as yer field."

"..." Moonlight stays unspeaking, keeping her eyes plastered on the grass below her.

"... I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, Moonlight. I apologize if I'm comin' off a bit pushy."

"N-No, it's okay, really, I'm not bothered, I... I..." Crimson eyes her softly, letting her gather her thoughts by remaining silent. "... C-... Could you give me some time to think about it? P-Please?"

"... Of course. Take all the time you need," he replies reassuringly. He reaches his hand to move a strand of pink hair from Moonlight's left eye. The mare blushes deeply and purses her lips, feeling her heart pounding with foreign feelings... which is abruptly interrupted by a yawn that forces itself out of the man's mouth. “Hmh, pardon me.”

"N-No, you're right. It's time that we called it a night."

He smirks as he sits up from the table. “Agreed. Think a good night’s rest is somethin’ we both need.” Moonlight follows suit, rising from the table as well. “I don’t gotta invade yer bed tonight either."

“Oh, no, it's okay, you can sleep in it if you want,” she assures as she begins her trek to the glass sliding door.

"That wouldn't feel right, takin' what's yers from you."

"I-I insist, Crimson. Please. It fits you very comfortably anyway, I can sleep on the recliner."

"'N I insist that you sleep on your own bed. I'd feel bad otherwise." He catches her shrinking again, leading him to conjure a terribly brazen idea. "How about we share it?"

She begins to interpret what his words might mean and fumbles a mouthful of vowels. “Wuh, who, I— I—"

"It's big enough fer the both of us. 'N don't worry me, I don't snore. Won't even know I'm there."

"A-A-Are... are you, um..."

"Sure? Very. Best of both worlds. C'mon." He reaches his left hand to open the sliding door for her and lets her walk in first. He enters after her, closing the door and making the path upstairs. Upon entering the bedroom, he focuses his eyes on the dormant ANA device while walking by it. “Surprised that your ANA thingy ain’t callin’ me names again."

Moonlight clears her throat, still warm at the cheeks, “I programmed her to recognize you after you fell asleep. She won’t be harassing you anymore."

“Good to hear,” he smirks, directing his attention to Moonlight. She looks back at him with uncertainty. He motions with his hand for her to go right ahead and lie down first.

She looks at the bed, absorbed in stage fright, then walks over, climbing onto the bed in a painfully shy manner. She picks up the covers and plants herself onto the right side. Once she adjusts herself into a comfortable position, Crimson strides over and lies down next to her, making sure not to disturb her nest of blankets.

The two lay next to each other, accompanied only by the quiet, occasional soft beep of the ANA device. The bed is indeed spacious enough to rest both of them comfortably. Once she uses her magic to click off the lamp, Crimson looks over to Moonlight, who is finding something rather interesting on the ceiling. “G’night, Moonlight.”

The mare does not respond immediately, instead taking in the realization that a human, who she has spend the latter half of the afternoon with, is telling her 'good night' like if nothing was out of the ordinary. Of the many things she had predicted in her time as a Royal Researcher, a night like this was not one. “G… Goodnight. Crimson.” Her still-tinted pink cheeks display her trepidation, but it does not stop her from smiling to herself. Whatever tomorrow holds, it will definitely be more exciting than solving a formula.

Next Chapter: Home Body Estimated time remaining: 27 Hours, 23 Minutes