The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido


Chapter 3 - Date Night

That evening, Arc and Dinky walk down the dusty road toward New Ponyville. Dinky turns to her father.

“How’re you doing, dad?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Nervous?”

Arc sighs. “Admittedly, a little. Your mother and I have never gone out together.”

“Sure you have. Remember when we all went to ‘The Tasty Treat’ a while back?”

“I meant alone.”

“Oh! Well now I just plain feel silly.”

Dinky puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully before continuing.

“You could think of it another way. She’s never been out with you alone either, dad.”

“I suppose that’s true, yes. At least not in a date setting.”

“While you went to get changed I ran over to the bunkhouse to check on mom.”

“She okay?”

“Kinda. Truth be told, she looked really worried.”

“But your friends are with her, right?”

Dinky nods. “Oh yes. They’re making sure her mane and coat are properly brushed. When I last saw them she was getting a hooficure.”

“A what?”

“It’s when a mare gets her hooves filed and shined.”

“Oh. Didn’t know that.”

Dinky giggles. “I thought you knew everything though, dad.”

Arc chuckles. “Ha, I wish.”

They continue on toward their destination. As the pair reach the bunkhouse Arc stops as Dinky runs in front of him, blocking the way.

“Wait!”

“Dinky?”

“Let me go in first.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I just want to make sure mom’s ready, that’s all.”

“Um… okay.”

Dinky heads in as Arc waits outside. Heading for the common restroom she finds Apple Bloom brushing her mother’s coat as Sweetie Belle does her mane.

“My dad’s outside! How’s it going?!”

Apple Bloom looks over her shoulder. “Miss Derpy’s coat is shining!”

Sweetie Belle puts down a brush. “That’s the best I can do with your mom’s mane, Dinky!”

Derpy sighs. “It’s never been very cooperative for me either.”

Babs Seed runs over to them with a small box.

“Miss Cheerilee said we could borrow anything in here!”

Derpy appears confused. “What’s in there?”

“Jewelry!”

Apple Bloom grins. “What kind of stuff does Arc like?!”

Sweetie Belle puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “I remember Rarity telling me he liked her tiara and earrings when they went on her date!”

Babs rummages around in the box and frowns. “No tiaras in here! Just some silver earrings!”

Apple Bloom trots in place. “Just put something on her then!”

Dinky groans. “But silver will just blend in with her mane!”

Sweetie Belle turns to Babs. “Gold would really accentuate her features! There isn’t ANYTHING gold in there?!”

Babs shakes her head as she looks up. “None.”

Derpy shrugs. “Then I’ll just go like this.”

Sweetie Belle gasps. “But this is a big day for you!”

Apple Bloom grins. “Right! You have to look your best!”

Babs points to the other ponies footlockers. “We could look for something to borrow.”

Dinky grimaces. “I don’t think we should be going through other ponies’ belongings without permission though.”

Sweetie Belle frowns. “This is kinda an emergency though!”

Apple Bloom: They’ll understand!

Derpy looks to the box. “Let me see.”

Babs approaches and holds the jewelry box open. Derpy pulls out a simple silver necklace and smiles.

“This looks nice.”

Sweetie Belle looks at the necklace. “Like I said before, it won’t really stand out against your coat though.”

“Well, I like how it looks. And I think Arc will too.”

Dinky nods. “Fine, mom. After all, this is your night.”

Apple Bloom nods as she helps fasten the latch behind Derpy’s neck. “I got this.”

Sweetie Belle sighs. “Alright. That’s all we can do then.”

Apple Bloom giggles. “You do look very nice though, Miss Derpy.”

Babs appears apprehensive. “Do you think her date will agree?”

“I’m sure my dad will, yes.”

Derpy takes a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s go see him.”

Dinky leads her mother toward the door. Opening it she calls out to her father.

“She’s ready, dad!”

The pair step outside as Derpy looks away shyly.

“H-how do I look?”

“Very nice.”

“Dad and I came up with a number of things you two could do on your date.”

Arc pulls out a piece of paper. “Got it all wrote down.”

“Good. Shall we get moving then, Arc?”

“Sure. If you’re ready we can get underway.”

“I am.”

Stepping toward Arc, he calls forth his gauntlet and places a sigil on the ground. Derpy stands next to him as he looks to Dinky.

“You going to be okay while we’re gone?”

Dinky nods. “The rest of the townsponies will be getting out of work soon. I’ll get supper from the orphanage with them before we get back to playing.”

Derpy smiles at her daughter. “Don’t stay up too late sweetie.”

“I won’t.”

Arc chuckles. “Good. See you four later.”

Powering up the sigil, Arc and Derpy vanish as Dinky and the others wave. Reappearing in the middle of an empty field, Derpy looks around.

“Where… are we?”

“Baltimare.”

“A park?”

Arc sighs. “Not exactly. I made this sigil when I was here helping with the relief effort.”

“When those buildings went down?”

“Yeah. The one I was at is a mile or so down the road.”

“Then why’s there a sigil here?”

“I came here to be alone for a while and think.”

“Did it help?”

Arc clenches a fist. “Oh yes. It was on this very spot that I swore to myself that I’d make sure Decimus paid for this! And Celestia too if she had anything to do with it!”

He sighs and puts a hand to his forehead before continuing.

“I’m sorry. We’re supposed to be on a date right now. That and there’s nothing I can do at the moment to make good on that promise.”

Derpy smiles. “And I know that you’ll keep it when the time is right.”

“That I will.”

Leading Derpy toward the lights of the city, Arc looks at her as she marvels at the sights all around her.

“Everything’s so big!”

“That’s true. I wasn’t aware ponies could make buildings this large when I first arrived.”

“What do you want to do first?”

“You hungry?”

Derpy nods. “I am actually.”

“How about some pizza?”

“You know of a good place?”

“Dinky called Pinkie in Canterlot to ask. She says there’s a famous place just down the street. The only real question now is would you like to take a cab or walk?”

“I’d like to walk if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure. This way.”

Leading her down the street, Arc turns into a small pizzeria. The pair slip into a booth as a waitress walks over with two cups of water and her order pad.

“What can I get ya?”

Arc smiles at her. “I’d like a cheese pizza please.”

The waitress turns to Derpy. “And you hun?”

“The same please.”

“It’d be cheaper if you order one large instead.”

“Sure. That sounds nice.”

She nods and heads back to the kitchen. A short time later the mare returns with a piping hot pizza. Setting it down in front of them she looks to the pair.

“Now be careful. This just came out of the oven.”

Derpy giggles. “It smells great!”

Arc nods. “Agreed. Thanks.”

The waitress leaves them to their meal as Arc serves Derpy a slice.

“Better let this cool a bit first.”

Arc chuckles. “Right. But it’s going to be hard to do that, what with how good it smells.”

“Can I ask you something Arc?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“Why did you choose Baltimare for our date?”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh?”

“Dinky did.”

“But she’s only been here once.”

Arc chuckles. “And that was enough to impress her apparently.”

Derpy sighs happily. “She’s such a dear.”

“That she is.”

“You’re a wonderful role model for her.”

Arc sighs. “When I’m around.”

“Either way she really looks up to you.”

“I guess she could do worse.”

“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Dinky?”

Derpy nods. “Yes. What… do you suppose the future holds for her?”

Good things, I hope.”

“But you remember what Kronos said when it took her, right?”

Arc frowns. “That they needed to restore balance.”

“I still don’t get that.”

“Neither do I.”

“Do you suppose something bad is going to happen to her?!”

“Hopefully not. For both her sake and Kronos.”

“Oh?”

Arc clenches a fist. “Because if that creep lets something bad happen to her, I’ll personally find and give them the beating of a lifetime!”

“It said she was important though, so I can’t imagine them letting any harm come to her.”

“I wouldn’t put too much faith in them though. At least Dinky has a good head on her shoulders.”

“That she does. The way she led Sereb and her friends to look for you was, in hindsight, very brave.”

“Hopefully she never has need to do that again though.”

Derpy sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“Here we are on a date and all I’m doing is talking about negative matters.”

“It wasn’t negative. It was Dinky.”

“I could talk about her all day.”

“So could I. But why don’t we try some of this pizza now?”

Derpy nods happily. “Yes! Let’s!”

Picking their respective slices up carefully, Arc and Derpy take a bite. Arc is the first to speak.

“That’s great!”

“Yes! It might even be better than Roberto’s!”

Arc chuckles. “Let’s not get carried away now.”

Derpy takes a sip of water and sticks out her tongue.

“That bite was a bit hot!”

“You alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Guess we’d better wait a bit longer then.”

“Sure. It’ll give us time to talk some more.”

Arc smiles nervously. “Can I ask you something a bit… embarrassing?”

“Anything, Arc.”

“What are your hobbies?”

Derpy appears confused. “I don’t understand.”

“The question?”

“No. What a hobby is.”

“It’s something you do on your free time that you enjoy.”

“Ah! That would be spending time with Dinky.”

“Derpy, that’s not a hobby. It’s parenting.”

“Can’t it be both?”

“Not… exactly. At least I don’t think so. A hobby is something you do in your spare time for fun.”

“But that’s what I do.”

Arc groans. “Okay, what about when Dinky’s gone?”

“Like at a friend’s house?”

“Right.”

“Clean.”

“Not exactly a hobby either.”

“But I enjoy it.”

“Okay, what if Dinky was at a friend’s house AND you were completely done cleaning? Then what would you do?”

Derpy puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “I… don’t really know. It’s never actually happened before. But I guess I would take a nap or rest as best I was able.”

Arc chuckles as Derpy smiles nervously. She bows her head and sighs.

“Um… I’m not very good at this, am I?”

Arc shrugs. “Considering your upbringing, I don’t hold it against you.”

Derpy sighs. “Until I came to Ponyville, I wasn’t aware that ‘fun’ even existed.”

“What did you think others did with their free time?”

“That’s another thing I didn’t know existed.”

“Free time?”

“I was under the impression that everypony just kinda got up, worked, came home, and went to bed.”

Arc sighs. “Your dad really didn’t teach you anything, did he?”

Derpy shakes her head. “No. And because of it I’m just so far behind the rest of the world.”

“But you’ve done a great job catching up.”

“Thanks in part to you.”

“Considering how often I’m gone, I can’t really take credit for that.”

“Well, I do know that Twilight and her friends helped me acclimate to normal pony society.”

“Can I ask how?”

Derpy puts a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “Well… Twilight gave me a basic education. Telling me who the princesses were, some simple history, and bit of reading. The last thing was after I tried to help Dinky learn and quickly found that I needed to do so as well.”

“Twilight’s pretty good at explaining things, yes.”

“Applejack taught me some basic cooking skills. I really had no idea how food came to be back then. Well, I guess I did know a few things. Like that bread was mostly flour and water, but not much else. She started teaching me when she stopped by and I was just pulling a bread pan out of the oven.”

Derpy sighs before continuing.

“It was literally just cooked flour and water.”

“Oh my!”

“She showed me what a cookbook was and taught me how to measure things out. This was after I had learned basic reading from Twilight though.”

“And now you’re cooking for an entire orphanage full of foals.”

“Yes! And loving it! But it wasn’t all success stories.”

“What happened?”

“Rarity tried to show me how to do my mane. Even she couldn’t do much with it though. That and Pinkie attempted to show me how to have fun. But at the time I was still too shy to do much. And Rainbow Dash did her best to teach me how to fly faster for some reason.”

“What about Fluttershy?”

“She introduced me to nature. We gathered food for her animals and she taught me a little bit about each one.”

“How’d that go?”

“Pretty good actually. I learned that this world is full of many different creatures. While I knew that before, a lot of animals I thought to be merely fairy tales turned out to be real.”

“Such as…?”

“The platypus for starters.”

“That one is kinda out there in terms of believability I must admit.”

“It just goes to show just how big our world really is. And that I was just letting it pass me by.”

Arc smiles at her. “I’m glad you found your place in it.”

Derpy grins as she picks up her now cooled pizza. “So am I.”