//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 - Regrets // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// The next day Arc makes his way to the Canterlot Castle’s Infirmary. Entering, he finds Doctor Whooves looking over another patient. Waiting a few moments, the doctor eventually turns his attention to Arc. “Good morning, sir. I trust you’re doing well?” “As well as is to be expected. I’m here to see my friend.” “The young demon, sir?” “How’s she doing?” “According to the charts sent over from the Crystal Hospital, greatly improved.” “Can I see her?” “Oh course, sir. Right this way.” Leading Arc into the semi-private area of the Infirmary, they walk over to a curtain. Pulling it back Arc spies Auriel just waking up. Smiling, he hurries over to her. “How you feeling?” Auriel giggles weakly as she sits up. “Still a bit sore.” Stretching, as most whom have just awakened do, she suddenly gasps and doubles over in pain. Doctor Whooves steps forward. “Your wounds are still tender, miss.” “Yes, I… momentarily forgot that.” Arc sighs as he helps Auriel lay back. “Is she recovering though is the real question.” The doctor nods. “That she is, sir. But considering the extent of the damage its impressive that she’s gotten to this point so fast.” Auriel nods. “While I’ve always been told that demons heal quicker than most, it’s only the second time I’ve ever had to put that to the test. Well, for a serious injury, that is.” “I’ll let you two have some time alone while I check on my other patients.” Doctor Whooves leaves the bedside and closes the curtain behind him. Arc turns back to Auriel and smiles. “I’m glad to see you looking so well.” Auriel groans. “Sorry I’m not in the best state.” “That’s fine. But what exactly happened over there?” “Well… Princess Cadance came to visit me in the hospital. I asked how the rest of the battle had gone and was told that we won, but that the Crystal Heart had been destroyed.” “But what does that have to do with you?” “I volunteered to help try and reform it.” “Oh?” “There were some theories I had some time back regarding my magical essences research. I thought that if we could infuse the remains of the heart with a special blend that it might act as a binder of sorts.” “Like magical glue?” “Think of it more like magical welding. The pieces literally become one again. Or so I had hoped.” “It didn’t work out?” Auriel sighs. “At first yes. However as we increased power to the essence it suddenly… repelled the Crystal Heart’s shards.” Arc frowns. “By ‘repelled’ do you mean exploded?” “Kinda. I thought it was more like a very loud… pop. After I regained consciousness, that is.” “And that so-called pop reopened your wounds.” “More or less. And if I’m being completely honest, I did have to undergo another surgery to removes a few pieces of Crystal Heart shrapnel.” Arc groans. “That sounds… bad. Was anyone else hurt?” “Fortunately no. Rose and I were working on that project alone together, after all.” “Alone together?” “Apparently Princess Cadance is trying to keep this matter quiet.” “Oh?” “She’s worried that news of the Heart’s destruction would cause the public to panic.” Arc puts a hand to his forehead. “It’s not doing much for my own mental health either.” Auriel appears surprised. “I didn’t realize it meant so much to you.” “The Crystal Heart isn’t important, Auriel. You are.” “But I just wanted to…!” Arc puts a hand on her shoulder. “To help, I know. But you’re precious to me, so do try to be more careful in the future.” Auriel blushes slightly and nods. “I will. Promise.” The smiles and nods at one another for a moment before Auriel changes the subject. “In any case, I’m sorry for the way I look.” “I still think you look very nice.” Auriel giggles. “Come on! My hair hasn’t been properly brushed in over a week!” Arc grins. “Still look cute to me.” Leaning forward, he gently kisses Auriel’s forehead. She smiles and takes his hand as he pulls back. “So what did I miss?” “Well, we won the battle in the Crystal Empire thanks to the yaks.” Auriel raises an eyebrow. “Oh?” “Ember figured out a way to convince them to help us.” “Anyone else hurt?” Arc shakes his head. “Nothing serious, no.” Auriel appears relieved. “That’s good.” “You did great too, you know.” Auriel sighs. “I ended up more as a liability.” “Truthfully I’m very proud of you.” “Someone who was wounded?” Arc shakes his head. “No. Someone whom had the courage to stand and fight.” Auriel smiles as she squeezes his hand. “I did it for you, Arc. Anything else happen though?” “Well… Decimus was killed again.” “Is he back yet?” “Most likely. But as you probably already heard, we were able to take back Light’s Hope and get Princess Celestia back.” “Is she still pretty… messed up?” “Nah. Princess Luna was able to somehow clear the corruption from her mind.” “So she’s back to normal?” “Somewhat. There’s still the mental scars. But she’ll have to work through those with therapy.” “Resting and talking?” “Sadly, no. Celestia had wanted to go right back to ruling right away. But I didn’t let her.” Auriel gasp. “You stopped her?” “Yup.” “How did Twilight take that?!” “About the same way you did ironically.” “You know she isn’t going to want to sit around waiting though.” “Yeah. She wanted to take on more responsibility, so she accompanied us to New Ponyville to check on the refugees.” “And Twilight?” “She came with us too.” “I meant to ask how she’s holding up.” “Ah! Well… putting up a strong front. But I know she’s struggling inside.” Auriel nods. “Perhaps Luna should start taking over some of the royal duties.” “Yeah… about that. I may have… um… removed Celestia from power.” Auriel appears confused. “I’m sorry, what?” “She’s technically not a princess at the moment. We’re going to have to discuss where to go from here with the other royals.” “Over breakfast?” Arc shakes his head. “Twilight asked me to come to the Audience Chamber later for a bit of a... a royal meeting.” “Thanks for coming to see me though. I know just how busy you can get.” Arc smiles as he puts a hand on her cheek. “Well, I need to be able to make more time for one of my future wives, don’t I?” Auriel smiles broadly. “Yes, you do.” Leaning forward, Arc presses his lips against Auriel’s. She leans in to reciprocate happily. They kiss for a time before Arc leans back happily. “It’s good to have you back, Auriel. And I’m sorry I didn’t come visit you in the hospital.” “I’m just glad everything worked out in the Crystal Empire.” “How do you feel right now?” Auriel puts a hand on her belly. “Just a bit of dull pain.” “Are you able to move around at all?” “Walking to the toilet mostly. Going further is hard since it twists my wounds. However I’m learning to do better.” “How so?” “Just by moving differently. It makes me look a bit funny, but I can get around.” “So when are you getting out of here?” “The doctor said I can leave whenever. I just need to be monitored by someone at all times. Just in case I fall down and tear a wound, or something.” “Want to come with me to see Princess Celestia?” Auriel appears nervous. “Are you sure she won’t be mad?” “No. But she does need to know that you’re here in addition to the new reformed Great Demon Kingdom.” “If you’ll stay by my side I’ll come.” “Deal. Just let me tell the doctor that I’m taking you.” Heading through the curtain Arc finds Doctor Whooves. Explaining the situation to him they return to Auriel’s side. Helping her stand up, Arc puts an arm around her belly. Gasping, Auriel sits back down. “Not a good spot!” “Sorry. But where else can I support you?” “Just my back.” Whooves nods as he points a hoof. “Yes sir. Anywhere on the patient’s chest and belly are off limits.” “Let me try again.” Carefully putting his hand on Auriel’s back, he gently pushes her up. She slowly gets to a standing position, albeit hunched over slightly. Auriel looks to Arc sheepishly. “Sorry.” “What for?” “The smell.” The doctor sighs. “We’ve been giving Miss Auriel sponge baths daily, of course. However they’re not the best form of cleaning oneself.” “That and I just woke up so I haven’t had one yet.” Arc turns to the stallion. “How about a regular shower, doctor?” “Yes, but only under constant watch. That and she’ll need to use a specialized soap in addition to being rebandaged after drying completely.” “I can handle that. Do you have some of that soap on hand?” “I do. Let me get it in addition to a med-kit.” Arc and Auriel follow the doctor back to the main room. He gathers some supplies and puts them into a hard plastic case. Giving it to Arc, he taps it with a hoof. “Inside you’ll find a single use bar of medical soap. Discard it after the shower, allow the patient’s body to completely dry, and then rebandage her.” “I’ll take care of it.” Auriel smiles. “Thank you for everything, doctor.” “Just doing my job, miss.” Arc opens a portal and slowly helps Auriel through. Reappearing in his room he gestures to the bathroom. “You ready?” Auriel nods fervently. “Very much so.” Entering the bathroom, he helps Auriel sit down on the toilet seat before turning and getting the water going in the large shower. Returning to his friend he kneels down and looks her in the eye. “Do you need me to help you get undressed?” Auriel nods. “Yes, I do.” “Okay.” Carefully unbuttoning her hospital gown, Arc pulls it off of her to expose her red skin and bandages which are wrapped around her entire boddice. He looks her in the eye before speaking. “How about the rest?” “There’s a clip on my left side holding the end together.” “You okay with me doing this?” Auriel smiles at him. “Arc… I’m okay with so much more. Don’t worry about it.” Nodding, Arc finds the clasp and unlocks it. Carefully unwrapping the bandages from around her, he is eventually able to expose her wounds (and everything else in the process). Helping Auriel stand, he slowly leads her over to the shower. Sitting her down, Arc assists her in laying on the cool tile floor. Auriel looks relieved as he finishes. “You okay?” “I’m just glad I can finally get cleaned up properly. It’s been hard having to deal with my own scent.” Arc turns to the med-kit on the counter. “Let’s see about that soap now.” Opening the box Arc finds a small package in one of the pockets. Picking it up he removes the paper wrapper and walks back to Auriel. “Now the question is how to do this without hurting you.” “The easiest way would be for you to join me in here.” “I suppose. But are you okay with…?” Auriel sighs. “Arc, we’ve been naked together a few times now. So yes I’m just fine with it.” Nodding, Arc removes his own clothes and tosses them aside. Picking up a washcloth and the special soap he steps into the shower and kneels down next to Auriel. “Ready?” Smiling, Auriel nods. Arc lathers up the soap on the washcloth and starts by washing her face. Rinsing it with the shower nozzle, Auriel sighs contentedly as he moves down to her neck. “This feels wonderful!” “Getting properly cleaned after extended sponge baths is pretty nice.” “You’ve done it?” Arc nods. “After Celestia blasted me, yes.” Auriel looks to the nasty scars on his torso. “It… must’ve been very painful.” “It was, yes. But that wasn’t actually the worst part.” “Oh?” “That would be the whole memory loss aspect of things. Did I have a family and home elsewhere? Were they looking for me? And who was I?” “Were you scared?” “I didn’t really feel fear so much as… emptiness.” Auriel puts a claw on his hand, stopping it. Arc looks to her clearly concerned. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?” Auriel shakes her head. “No. But I… do have a request.” “What is it?” “I want to touch it.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “Touch… what exactly?” “Your scar.” “Oh! Um… that’d be fine.” Sitting there, Arc allows Auriel to touch his belly. She feels the scar where Celestia’s horn blew through him. Tracing it for a few moments with a claw she looks up into Arc’s face. “Does it still hurt?” “Just mentally.” “Huh?” “Sometimes when I close my eyes I can still see the wild rage in her eyes. That night I honestly thought I was going to die.” “I’m glad you didn’t.” “Thanks.” Auriel looks away sadly. “We… all believed you were gone though.” “Sorry for making you worry.” “Nothing about that night was your fault though, Arc.” Arc points to Auriel’s wounds. “Neither was yours.” “But I’m fine with this.” “With having a bunch of holes in you?” “Fighting to help protect you and the Crystal Empire.” She takes his hand before continuing. “After all, I couldn’t keep living if something happened to you.” They look into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Arc smiles. “You know… you’re really cute lying there like that.” Auriel giggles. “I suppose any female would be without clothes.” “Nah. I didn’t mean it like that.” “It’s okay if you did. I like it, after all.” “Well, I’m just trying to get you cleaned up.” “How many females have you been in the shower with?” “Um… several. Rarity, Twilight, Natalya, you, Ember, Hammer, technically Applejack and Tempest…” Auriel grins slyly. “It must be a fetish for you.” “A fetish?” “Something that turns you on.” Arc smiles. “I know what a fetish is. But I don’t think it’s you lying there that I like.” “Then what…?” “I think it’s more along the lines of me enjoying helping.” “Cleaning me up?” Arc nods. “Yeah. After all, you can’t do it yourself.” Auriel puts a claw under one of her breasts and lifts it seductively. “Are you sure that’s the only reason?” Arc chuckles. “That and you are really pretty, yes.” Sometime later Arc finishes washing Auriel’s body along with her hair. Turning off the water, he carefully puts a towel around his friend and helps her out of the shower. Leading Auriel out of the bathroom and over to the bed he helps her lay down. Covering her with a blanket, Arc sits down next to her. “Warm enough?” Auriel nods. “I am, thank you.” “Hopefully I did a good job.” “Yes, I feel a lot cleaner now.” “I’ll help make sure you look presentable for our meeting later.” “When is it again?” “In about an hour or so. Why?” “That means we have some time to talk, right?” “Sure. What do you want to talk about?” “About fetishes.” Arc groans. “This again?” “Forgive me, but I’ve wanted to ask you about a few things for quite some time now. It’s kinda important to me.” “Fine then. What did you want to know?” “Just what turns you on mostly.” “I don’t really know. After all, you and the others are the first real relationships I’ve been in.” “Well, I already know about your ‘shower fetish’.” Arc shrugs. “Call it what you will.” “But I can’t help but think about what else you like.” “Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind. So why don’t we look at this from the other side of the issue?” “Huh?” “You, Auriel.” “My fetishes?” “Yeah.” “I’ve had to give that some thought recently.” “As I’m your first real relationship?” Auriel nods. “Right.” “This conversation is kinda hard to have.” “I know it isn’t something that’s easy to talk about, but…” Arc interrupts her. “No, no. I mean because neither of us really knows what we’re doing.” “Oh. Right.” “Is that really a bad thing though?” “Kinda.” “I disagree. Think about it this way. You and me along with the others aren’t all the same. We have our own likes and dislikes. So what turns one of us on might be really upsetting to another.” “Like what?” “Well… you said you’ve been thinking about what you’d like done to you, right?” “A bit, yes.” “Can you give me an example?” Auriel blushes slightly. “Well… I’ve dreamed on numerous occasions about you… um…” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “…about you… ripping my clothes off.” “You wanted it, huh?” “Yes, Arc. I wanted you to tear that dress off and make passionate love to me in that hammock. Or on the ground nearby. Is that a good example?” “Um… kinda. Now then, like I was saying… you might have that fetish and want it more than anything else. But at the same time someone else might see that as a major turn-off. Like Rarity for example. She’d be too worried about her coat and mane getting dirty. To say nothing for the ruined dress.” “I see what you mean. But a different mare, let’s say Rainbow Dash, might also like being forcefully taken.” “Exactly.” “And Fluttershy being put on a leash.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “I… guess.” “And Pinkie wanting to be forced to arch her back while being violated as her mane is pulled really hard.” “Ah, Auriel…?” “And Ember being tied up and whipped over and over with…” “Auriel!” “Yes?” “This doesn’t sound like a hypothetical conversation anymore.” “I suppose it isn’t, no.” Arc frowns. “How… exactly do you know all of this?” “From a conversation we all had over tea one day.” “You and the others were talking about… this?” “Yes. The down side was that no one really knew what to do to make your experience memorable.” Arc sighs. “In any case, the point I was originally trying to make was that we can all figure each other out as we go.” Auriel puts a finger to her cheek thoughtfully. “That… might be kinda fun. Trying new things with one another.” “I’m not expecting every encounter to be some kind of mind-blowing experience, mind you. To me it’s not so much the act of having sex with you and the others inasmuch as the fact that I’m doing it with those I care about.” “Not really sure how I should feel about this.” “Something wrong?” Auriel smiles nervously. “I… kinda told the others that I would fish for information.” “About what I liked?” “We all just really want to make you happy the first time.” “And I appreciate that. But let’s just focus on the important things right now.” “Like what?” Arc turns back toward the bathroom. Stretching out a hand, he pulls the med-kit from the counter and into his palm before turning back to Auriel. “Bandaging you back up.” “But I’m not completely dry under here.” “Guess the blankets are trapping the water under there along with that towel.” “I can uncover.” “Won’t you be kinda cold though?” Auriel shrugs. “It’ll only be for a little while.” Nodding, Arc pulls the covers back and removes Auriel’s towel. Tossing them aside he turns back to her. “Just let me know if you get too cold.” “Could you… light a fire in the fireplace?” “Sure.” Standing, Arc puts some fresh logs in the fireplace. Casting a spell the logs burst into flames. Turning back to Auriel he sees her shivering. “Want me to help you over to the fire?” Auriel nods. “Please do.” Carefully helping her sit up, Arc slowly walks Auriel over to the rug in front of the roaring fire. Laying her down, he sits next to her. She sighs contentedly. “Much better.” “It’s certainly warmer here.” “Summer’s come and gone and autumn has long since started. Soon it’ll be winter again.” Arc sighs. “Yeah.” “Something wrong?” “I… just wish I knew what happened to Shelly.” Auriel nods soberly. “You did tell us some time ago that she probably didn’t have long to live.” Arc puts a hand to his forehead. “Yeah. More than likely she’s already gone.” “You don’t know that, Arc.” “Right. But either way I should have been with her.” “I know what that feels like. Wanting to be with someone but unable to do so.” “Equestria… it’s a whole country. This landed needed me.” “Yes it did.” “That’s what I keep telling myself anyways.” “Shelly would have understood. She was very sweet.” Arc shakes his head. “Had I left to be with her, Decimus and the Council of Shadows would have taken over by now.” “Most likely, yes.” “The real problem is that I don’t really know when I’ll be able to go back to Earth.” “Couldn’t you go anytime though?” “With the Rainbow of Light, yes.” “Then why not just pop back to Earth and see her? You could just make an afternoon of it.” Arc sighs. “I’ve thought about that many times since we came back. But in the back of my mind I always figured that the moment I left something would have come up. And I wouldn’t be here to do anything about it.” “Duty to country and duty to loved ones.” “Right. While I’m sure Lily was there for her… I… I should have…” Auriel takes his hand and holds it tight. Looking Arc in the eye, she smiles. “She cared about you very much.” “I know, but…” Putting a claw to Arc’s lips, she shakes her head. “Don’t do that, Arc.” “Do what?” “The ‘what if’s’. You can’t go back in time to change anything.” “Wish I could.” “You’ll wear yourself down with that attitude. Just deal with the here and now and go back when you can.” Meanwhile, Brightwing flutters around her office with the stone from Abyssinia. She puts it in a small cradle of sorts and casts a spell on it. It glows weakly as magical energy drips down its surface into a beaker under it. Grinning, Brightwing continues channeling magic into it. “Soon… very soon it will be complete! And then… oh, and then… everyone will see just how SMART Brightwing is! Oh yes, yes, YES!!!” She giggles happily as the potion begins to glow steadily.