The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido


Chapter 11 - A Royal Affair

Later that night, Arc’s earring chirps. Slowly opening his eyes, he moves to sit up as Twilight does the same.

“Arc? What’s… going on?”

“Got a call here. Let’s see what’s up.”

Touching his earring, Arc speaks.

“Go ahead.”

Lemon Hearts’ voice rings out over the airwaves. “Sorry to wake you up, sir. But we’ve just received word from the Cloudsdale Town Council.”

“Good. What’s their decision?”

“On the recommendation of Headmaster Wing, they’ve unanimously voted to temporarily move Cloudsdale next to Canterlot.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“Yes sir. The guards you sent with the headmaster have returned. They reported that their charge has been safely returned to the hospital as per your orders.”

“Very good. When will the city be moved?”

“Moon Dancer believes we can tow it with The Equinox if we strategically place several cables.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Wait… attach cables to… clouds?”

Lemon Hearts shrugs. “I don’t get it either, sir. But she claims it’s possible.”

“Alright. We’ll get that underway just as soon as we get the word to do so.”

“Yes sir. That’s all I had to report.”

“Thanks. Good night.”

“Night, sir.”

He touches his earring, severing the connection. Twilight presses her face against his chest and sighs contentedly.

“This feels… right.”

“Well it is a very expensive bed.”

Twilight giggles. “No, silly! I mean lying here with you!”

Arc chuckles. “Yeah, I know. I just wanted to see what you’d say.”

The pair share a laugh as they hug. As Arc lays back down Twilight looks up to him.

“If we could do this every night, I could rule Equestria forever.”

“Well… if Celestia doesn’t come quietly you might have to.”

Twilight sighs. “I know. Do you… do you think it’ll come to that?”

“Hopefully not. If I did, I think a lot of Equestria would hate me for it. You included.”

“Yes, well… I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about that.”

“About what you’d do?”

“Kinda. In truth I’ve been considering the very real possibility that you might have to take Princess Celestia down.”

“With any luck she’ll come quietly.”

“And if not?”

“Then I’ll do my best to knock her out and capture her.”

“How?”

“I was thinking sedatives.”

Twilight shakes her head. “She would never let you give her a shot.”

“Certainly not. That’s why I’ve got Hammer and Wrangler working on some special bombs.”

Twilight frowns. “Talk about escalating things.”

“Not that kind of bomb. I was thinking more along the lines of something that releases large amounts of sleeping gas.”

Twilight gasps. “But that would take you down too!”

“That’s fine with me. As long as we get Celestia alive, that is.”

Twilight puts a hoof to her chin. “I suppose that might work.”

“Yes, well… why don’t we get some sleep now? It’s still way too early to get up.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to after this talk. After all, I don’t want to lose either one of you.”

“With proper planning we’ll all go home safely. Don’t worry, Twilight. After all, we’re not going in there half-cocked.”

“I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

“Me too.”

“Scared?”

“More nervous than anything.”

Twilight looks away nervously. “Princess Celestia is pretty powerful.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Oh? Then what…?”

Arc gestures out the window. “Decimus and his crew. Sunset Shimmer, Kane, Tempest, and others I don’t know about.”

“They’ll be dealt with as needed.”

“Well, ‘as needed’ might just turn into a battle royale.”

“That’s a conversation we should have with Shining Armor. He might be able to help us plan a strategy.”

“Good idea. When we do this I’ll take all the help I can get. But for now let’s try to sleep, okay.”

“I don’t really want to though.”

“Me either. Um… Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“Can I tell you something kinda… weird?”

“Of course.”

“It’s about you, Derpy, and Rarity.”

“Something bad?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, no! I just… don’t really know how to say it without sounding kinda creepy.”

“Then just say it. I won’t get mad or anything.”

“Okay. Here goes.”

Arc takes a deep breath before continuing.

“I… love the way all of you smell.”

Twilight sits up and looks him in the eye.

“Smell?”

“Your natural scents, I mean. Okay, I can’t believe it but that actually made it sound even worse.”

Twilight blushes. “Does it… arouse you?”

“Not really. I just… it’s kinda complicated though. I’m assuming everyone has their own distinct scent. But you three are the only ones I’ve ever slept with.”

He groans.

“Again with the foot in mouth moments.”

Twilight giggles. “And here I thought we were going to get some sleep.”

“We really should.”

“But I’m enjoying this conversation!”

Arc groans. “Fine. Where were we?”

“You sniffing us.”

“Right. I did notice something interesting though.”

Twilight’s eyes light up expectantly. “An experiment?”

“Just an observation really. Both Rarity and Derpy’s bodies smell very different in their human forms.”

“Which is better?”

“Neither really. Just thought I’d point it out.”

“Well, our bodies produce sweat differently. That probably makes for a slightly different musk. Tell me, what about the fillies?”

“What about them?”

“I’m told you’ve slept with Dinky and Scootaloo before.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Did their scent’s change?”

“Less than the mares, but yes.”

Twilight smiles. “Interesting. This deserves further study.”

“Whatever floats your boat, I guess. Um… Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“How… do I smell?”

“Just fine usually. Why?”

“Sometimes I go a bit too long between showers. Just wanted to ask if that was an issue.”

“A couple times, yes. That’s when we politely suggested you bathe though.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“When you were living in the library with me.”

“Oh… right.”

“Bathing was hard for you due to the injuries.”

“Yeah, that was a bit of a stinky time in my life.”

Twilight sighs. “I kinda just put up with it though, seeing as your condition was all my fault.”

“Sorry. I’ll do my best to stay clean in the future.”

“We will too.”

Arc chuckles “What a conversation. Just how long have we laid here just talking about how each other smells?”

“Longer than I thought we would.”

“Well, I am pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the discussion.”

“Even though it was kinda weird, I did too.”

“We need to have more of these talks. It’ll help us get to know each other better.”

Twilight yawns. “Agreed. But now I’m getting kinda tired.”

“Okay. Um… before we go back to sleep there is one thing I’d like to do first.”

“What’s that?”

“Would you roll over please?”

“Uh… okay.”

Turning over to face away from Arc, Twilight lays there for a few moments before Arc presses his body against her back.

“Arc? What are you doing?”

“You’ll see.”

Wrapping his arms around her Arc buries his face in her mane and inhales.

“Still like that smell.”

“What do I smell like?”

“Royalty.”

Twilight sighs contentedly. “Funny. And what does royalty smell like?”

“Fancy oils, light perfume, and confidence.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

The pair fall asleep together with Arc nuzzling Twilight’s head. Waking early the next morning, Arc pets Twilight’s mane for a time before she opens her eyes.

“Sorry. I guess I dozed off.”

Arc chuckles. “We both did. After all, it’s morning.”

Twilight sits up, confused. “It… it is?”

“Yup. Time to raise the sun.”

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Arc stands and walks over to the window. Raising a hand, the moon lowers and the sun comes up as Twilight approaches and sighs.

“That’s… still incredible.”

“Twilight?”

“You’ve only had magic for a little over a year now. Yet you’ve been able to surpass pretty much every unicorn in the kingdom in terms of magical power.”

“I don’t think I’m quite that good.”

“Oh really? Did you know that until you became Lord Regent it was an accepted fact that only Alicorn Magic could raise the sun and moon?”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “It was?”

“Yes!”

“Why’s that?”

“Because nopony else could seem to do it! And don’t think it hasn’t been tried!”

“By whom?”

Twilight bows her head. “Pretty much every unicorn at some point in their lives. Think of it like a rite of passage for us.”

“But I don’t have Unicorn Magic. Mine’s Dragon Magic, remember.”

”I understand that. However no dragon has ever been able to do it either. At least as far as I know.”

“And that bothers you?”

“Yes, it does. But not for the reason you think.”

Arc kneels down in front of Twilight. “Then explain it to me.”

“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna can both effortlessly move the celestial bodies. Since becoming an alicorn I have tried on numerous occasions to do the same. However every time I’ve met with failure.”

She looks down at her hooves and sighs.

“You should be on the throne. Not me.”

“The throne?”

“Yes. Equestria deserves a proper ruler. One whom can do the entire job. I’m just… just not powerful enough.”

A tear courses down her cheek as Arc pulls her into an embrace.

“You will be one day, Twilight.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because I know you. I know that you’ll give it your all and do your best at all times.”

“Like Princess Celestia?”

“Better than her even. Do you think she started out tall, regal, powerful or influential?”

“I… guess not. But I can’t compare to you or her.”

“Not right now, no. However if you keep at it I’m sure you’ll earn your place, Twilight.”

“Do you really think so?”

Arc nods. “I know so.”

Twilight smiles sadly. “That might take a long time.”

“Everything in life worth doing is hard. But the others and I will be with you through it.”

“Thanks. That does make me feel better.”

“Good. Now how about we get a shower before heading to the Cafeteria for breakfast?”

Twilight sniffs herself and groans. “I suppose that does sound good, yes.”

Heading for the bathroom, Arc leads Twilight into the shower. Bathing each other, they sit there in the warmth of the running shower for a long time. Twilight turns to Arc and looks over his body.

“I never get tired of this.”

“Showering or my company?”

“The latter. And… um…”

Twilight looks at him from head to toe for a long moment before continuing.

“I really enjoy… looking at your bare body.”

She smiles nervously as she blushes heavily. Arc chuckles at her reaction.

“Yes well… I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Rainbow Dash won’t be too happy though.”

“Oh?”

“She’s wanted to see all of you for some time now. But then again I know for a fact that she wants more than just to see you.”

“Rainbow Dash has never been shy about that.”

“That mare always says what’s on her mind. Which I do rather like.”

“True. But that can lead to some hastily said words if she’s not careful.”

“Agreed. And that used to be quite a problem. She’s gotten a lot better though. Um… will that be an issue?”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah. After all, no one is perfect.”

Twilight breathes a sigh of relief. “Good! I said that and then realized that I’m kinda talking about her behind her back. Is that bad?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. But the fact your conscious of and repentant for it shows that you didn’t mean it in a negative way.”

“Well… I don’t really know why I bothered to say anything. After all, you’ve been out with her.”

“Actually, no.”

Twilight appears confused. “But I thought you had been staying at her parent’s place and having dinner with them.”

“I was, yes. But she only just told her parents about the whole herd idea yesterday at dinner.”

“That’s strange. She’s usually chomping at the bit to tell everypony what she’s up to.”

“We haven’t had time to go on a date yet. Just Rarity and Fluttershy.”

“Yes, that I did know about. And us too kinda.”

“We have?”

Twilight motions to the door. “Didn’t you find it funny that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were so quick to leave with Scootaloo?”

“Kinda. But I didn’t really think much of it at the time.”

“They volunteered to do that.”

“To give us some alone time?”

Twilight nods as she rests her head on Arc’s shoulder. “Yes. They understood that, unlike them, I can’t go on a real date with you. So this was the best we could come up with. A night alone ending with us sleeping together and a shower in the morning.”

She sighs before continuing.

“I’d love to do more. Have dinner and a night on the town. Maybe go to the symphony hall even.”

“But right now that isn’t an option.”

“Right.”

Arc takes Twilight’s hoof. “While I wish it was, I did enjoy spending time with you nonetheless.”

“So did I. But right now I should probably be getting back to Canterlot.”

“Guess you probably should.”

“Are you coming back soon?”

“The Equinox will be towing the city and probably the Wonderbolt’s Academy too. So as soon as that gets underway I’ll take a portal back and help you in leading the country.”

Twilight appears relieved as Arc reaches out with his magic and turns off the water. “Thanks. I need all the help I can get right now.”