• Published 27th Apr 2019
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The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds - Kamahido



Twilight accidently brings a human from Earth to Equestria. Will he be able to coexist with the equine inhabitants of this new land?

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Chapter 13 - The Maw


Darkness falls as the scene ends. Derpy lies on the ground, unable to stand.

“Slowly but surely I walked to the port. There was a ship leaving within the hour to Manehattan. While I had no clue as to what I would find there, it wasn't my hometown and that was good enough for me. Arriving in Manehattan was... overwhelming, to say the least. Tall buildings, ponies everywhere, and everyone was so unfriendly. I knew that I would find no home in that city. So, I boarded a train to go further west. I eventually stopped at a town called Ponyville. It looked like a nice quiet place to start a new life, so I disembarked, found the mayor's office, and used a large chunk of the bits I had to buy my house.”

“Derpy... I had no idea your life had been so hard!”

“After I had settled in, I quickly realized that without any formal education to speak of I had zero skills to support myself and my coming foal. One night a while back I put an announcement on the Writ Board for a room for rent, hoping I could make enough if only just to eat. So much time went by, and no one answered. I used the last of the money my father gave me to buy what food I could and made it last as long as possible. With nothing left in the house, I turned to eating the grass in my backyard. I'm not proud of it, but my unborn foal needed nutrition.”

Arc nods soberly. “Yes, I saw you do just that the night I moved in. I also saw the cupboards were empty.”

“And... you went to buy food for me. But, why? I was a stranger to you then! Please! I have to know the truth!”

“I did it because it was the right thing to do, Derpy.”

She looks at him, bewildered. “…that’s all?”

Arc smiles at her. “That’s all.”

Derpy looks thoroughly confused. “I... don't know what to say... how to... feel... what to... do...”

A voice speaks from the shadows. “I'll tell you what you SHOULD do!”

Arc looks all around. “Who’s there?!”

Derpy covers her eyes fearfully. “No! This is how it always ends!”

She cowers on the ground, obviously terrified as a shadow creature forms in front of them. Its features are identical to Derpy herself but much, MUCH darker. Arc steps between her and the shadow creature.

“Who are you? WHAT are you?!”

The creature grins a wicked smile at Arc. “I am known as... Regret. And this little one is my favorite plaything. Now stand aside, strange looking one, and let me have my fun.”

Unwavering, Arc stares straight at Regret. “Leave her alone! Hasn't she suffered enough?!”

The beast before them laughs a dark and terrible laugh. “Oh, she hasn't even begun to feel my wrath! Last chance, mouse, outta the way!”

Derpy still lies on the ground petrified and unable to raise her head. “It… it's okay, Arc. Just leave me to my nightly fate. I deserve this.”

Regret looks toward Derpy and sneers. “You should listen to your little friend there. She knows what she's talking about.”

The shadowy being moves to push past Arc, but instead finds itself on the receiving end of a knuckle sandwich. Derpy looks up, surprised.

“What are you doing?!”

Arc stares down the monster before him as he doubles up his fists. “Last chance! Leave her alone, or I'll show YOU the meaning of regret!”

Regret laughs at the display before itself. “You want to play too, mouse!? So be it!”

The beast disappears into shadows.

“Arc! Don't! Just run away!”

He turns his head to look at Derpy. “No! I won't abandon you to that monster! You don't have to face it alone! I'm here with you too!”

A shadow of her mother materializes in front of Derpy. The shade looks at her with empty eyes.

“Derpy… why?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Derpy looks up. “Mother?! What do you mean?!”

“Why… did you… kill me?”

Arc stares at the shade before them. “What?!”

The shade of Derpy’s mother begins to cry. “It's all your fault! If you had never been born, your father and I could have stayed together and lived happily!”

“You're right! I never should have been born!”

Arc looks around. “REGRET!!! Show yourself!!!”

“Oh, gladly!”

Regret rematerializes overhead on a dark cloud, out of reach of both Arc and Derpy.

“Come down here and face me like a man! Pony? ...whatever you are!”

Regret rears back its head and laughs. “And miss the show?! Never!”

Arc turns his attention back to Derpy who is crying uncontrollably.

“Mother! I'm sorry! I am so... so sorry!”

He kneels down in front of her. “Listen to me, Derpy! Your mother's death was NOT your fault! Don't you remember what you mother said when you were born? When she held you, she said ‘this made it all worthwhile’. Somehow she knew the end had come for her. You being born safely was more important to her than her own life. Don't throw that away.”

Derpy calms slightly, but does not look up. “I... never thought about it that way before.”

Regret seems to shrink in size, albeit slightly. “Impressive, mouse! Let us see how long your luck can hold out!”

Derpy is suddenly surrounded by shadow versions of all the ponies who pretended to be her friends over the years.

“So foolish!”

“Did you really think we liked you?!”

“I can't believe you fell for our lies! You deserve the pain we caused you!”

Derpy’s tears begin to flow again. “How could I have been foolish enough to think anypony would want to be friends with a simpleton like me?”

Arc frowns. “You’re wrong, Derpy. Your kindness is your greatest strength! THEY were the ones who took advantage of your desire to help others! THEY are the ones who missed their chance to be friends with such a kind and caring pony like you. And THEY alone are to blame for THEIR actions! You shouldn't be held accountable for the mistakes of others!”

“...you’re right! I wanted to be their friend, but they didn't truly want to be mine!”

Regret shrinks noticeably in size. “ARGH! Okay, playtime is over, mouse!”

Another shadow approaches Derpy. This time of Moonlit Dusk.

“I asked, and you delivered. I spoke with honeyed words, and like a fool you believed me. Did you actually think I loved you? If you did you're an even bigger fool than I originally gave you credit for being! I might even feel bad for you... if you hadn't been so... EASY! You gave me EVERYTHING, and I left you, ALONE, with nothing! Nothing but a growing reminder in your belly of how naive you truly are! Every day of your life you will look upon your four-legged bastard and remember me... and what I did to you!”

Derpy looks up at Moonlit Dusk. “...I was drawn to you because you were kind to me. That and I was just so lonely! What you said is true. I did give you everything you asked of me... food, bits, clothing... even... myself. But you didn't leave me with nothing like you thought. The foal that grows inside me will be raised in a loving home... the loving home I always wanted but never had! In some small way, I now have a chance to make that part of my life right. For that, I thank you.”

Derpy bows her head to the shade of Moonlit Dusk. Regret is now only a third of its original size. Arc nods.

“Well said, Derpy. And look at Regret. It's only a fraction of its original size. You can beat this! It all ends here, tonight.”

The shadow above them begins to laugh. “…I was saving this for a rainy day…”

A light rain begins to fall.

Regret looks up. “…oh will you look at that!”

A shadow materializes and slowly walks toward Derpy. She looks up at the figure walking toward her and recoils in horror.

“No! Not you! ANYPONY BUT YOU!”

Iron Hooves approaches his daughter. A look of disdain on his face.

“You… you were my greatest failure! I gave you a home, and what did I get in return?! A simpleton, a cretin... A FOOL!!! A pony who is incapable of learning! A naive little pony who follows the piper's sweet flute and dances to his tune! And like a flash you run into the outstretched hooves of the first stallion you see! But you were not done disgracing me, oh no! Then you come crying to me about the adulterated and impure mongrel you have growing in you! Even your mistakes have mistakes! You know, I'm glad your mother never lived to see you drag our family name through the mud. The shock would certainly have killed her!”

Derpy hangs her head in shame, unable to say anything. All the while Regret slowly grows in size. Arc shakes his head.

“Really, Regret? THAT’S the best you can do?!”

“The mouse squeaks again?”

Arc turns to the shade of Iron Hooves and points angrily. “You gave her a HOME? Don't make me laugh! A roof over one's head hardly constitutes a home! Incapable of learning? How much time and effort did YOU put into her education? The words of a handsome young stallion can be quite enticing to one who never had anyone to guide her in life... you know... like a PARENT? And of course she ran to the first guy who showed her love! It's not like YOU ever did! All these failures... all that led up to her being pregnant and alone... are a culmination of YOUR unwillingness and inability to raise a daughter! Derpy failed because YOU failed her first!”

Arc looks up at Regret. “This little game of yours is over Regret! Face it! You've lost!”

“Oh, this is FAR from over.”

A wave of pure hatred cascades towards Derpy. The impact sends her flying across the empty expanse. Arc runs to her side and kneels down to help her.

“Derpy! Can you hear me?! Say something!”

She slowly opens her eyes and looks to Arc. “Please... run... away. Save... yourself.”

Another wave of force hurtles towards Derpy's helpless form.

“Arc, please! Get… away…”

Arc wraps his arms around Derpy's body and braces himself. The blow hits Arc square in the back. He falls forward and lands on top of the frightened mare. He sits up and continues to shield Derpy with his body. Regret looks over at them and shakes its head.

“You’re a brave one, mouse. I'll give you that! But you can’t hold out forever.”

Wave after wave of pure hate crashes against Arc’s back. Derpy looks up at him, horrified.

“Arc, don't! I'm... just a worthless pony!”

Arc breathes heavily, clearly in pain. He turns to Regret with defiance in his eyes. “If it means protecting the one's I care about, I can last as long as I need to.”

Regret prepares a multi-faceted attack. “I doubt that! Tell you what! I'm feeling generous today. If you walk away now, I'll forget the whole thing.”

Arc refuses to move. “I will not.”

Regret’s face twists in rage at Arc’s response. It fires wave after wave of attacks. “Very well! You don't deserve to be my enemy... DIE HERE!”

Regret materializes a spear and flies at them. “Now die before my Spear of Regret!”

The creature lunges at Arc and strikes him with its spear through the back.

“Ugh!”

“Arc…?! NO!!!!!!!”

Regret pulls the spear out of Arc and walks away, clearly pleased with itself. Derpy does her best to comfort Arc as he lies on the ground. The tears stream down her face as she tries in futility to stop the flow of blood from Arc’s wound.

“Arc! No! Please! Don't die! I can't lose my only friend!”

She is covered in his blood by this point. Arc looks up at her and forces a small smile.

“Derpy... I... don't regret... coming here... to Ponyville. Nor do I... regret... meeting my... end... here... now... by... your side. Remember... remember this feeling... the friendship… of… a… true… fr… i… en…d.”

Arc's hand falls to his side, lifeless as he dies. Derpy stands over his body weeping as Regret laughs clearly pleased with itself.

“Ha! Go ahead! Suffer! Be sad! Such is the greatest offering you could give me!”

Regret begins to grow in size yet again before stopping suddenly, as if frozen in time. Another much larger being of light materializes high above. It speaks with a booming voice.

“Derpy!”

Derpy looks up, bewildered. “What? Who’s there?”

“Listen to me! Do not let Arc's sacrifice be in vain! You can defeat Regret using what Arc taught you!”

“What Arc taught me? I… I don’t understand!”

“Regret cannot stand against the power of Hope! Arc believed in you, but now you must believe in yourself!"

She stands up with renewed determination. “Yes! I... I do! I will fight Regret, and I will win! For Arc... and for... myself!"

“You have come so far in such a short time, Derpy. I'm afraid this is all I can do to help you. Take this...”

A light shines down on the ground directly in front of Derpy and a wondrous spear falls from high above, crashing into the ground.

“Take it Derpy... and remember to believe in yourself.”

Regret shakes its head as it is released from its momentary stasis. “What the deuce was that?! No matter! Where were we...?”

Derpy looks over to Regret in a strangely calm voice. “I believe we were at the part where YOU learned the meaning of REGRET!!!”

She jumps up and grabs the spear the mysterious figure left her. The moment she touches its shaft the shadows flee from around her. Its surface glows with a soft light which quickly spreads to the area immediately surrounding her.

“I won't let you hurt me, or anypony else ever again!”

Derpy takes the spear in hoof. The light from it spreads through her fetlocks and down to her chest, eventually covering most of her body. As the light fades it leaves behind a golden armor bearing a templar’s insignia. It feels extremely strong yet light as a feather.

Regret steps back, momentarily confused. “How did you...?! No matter! That miserable tin soldier stick is no match for me!”

The brave little templar looks over at Regret. “We’ll see about that!”

Clutching the spear in her hooves Derpy spreads her wings and flies straight toward Regret at a speed that should be impossible.

Regret chuckles. “So, I see there is fight in you after all! Like a bug on a windshield...”

Regret puts up a magic barrier between them. Templar Derpy sees the barrier but does not slow down. The shadowy figure’s demeanor quickly changes from confusion to that of rage as Derpy’s spear hits the barrier and shatters it.

“This mare is crazy!”

Regret raises several more barriers, each stronger than the last. Templar Derpy effortlessly smashes through all of them. As Regret grabs its Spear of Regret and moves to face its opponent it screams out in rage.

“THIS… ENDS… NOW!!!”

Regret flies at Templar Derpy and swings its Spear of Regret. Derpy effortless evades the attack and flies past. She turns back to face Regret.

“You’ll regret that too!”

Her opponent roars in anger and prepares to put everything it has into one final attack. Derpy does the same! As the two approach each other time seems to slow to a crawl.

“I WILL... NEVER... ALLOW YOU TO BE HAPPY!”

The tip of Regret’s spear hits Derpy squarely in the chest as time momentarily seems to stop altogether. However, upon contact with her armor the Spear of Regret shatters into innumerable pieces.

“This one's for you, Arc... SPEAR OF HOPE!!!”

Derpy’s spear pierces Regret’s chest. As the beast falls toward the ground it lets out the most horrible screams.

“No... NO! THIS CANNOT BE!!! ARGHHHHH!!!”

Regret melts into nothingness as Derpy looks down from high above and sighs contentedly. “It's over... it's finally over...”

Templar Derpy flies over to Arc's body. She looks at him for a long moment before using her newly found strength and determination to pick him up and place him on her back.

“Thank you, my friend. You were there for me to the end. I won't leave you here.”

Templar Derpy begins walking toward a tear in reality. She can see the two of them lying on the couch. The bright figure above calls out to her.

“Derpy.”

Templar Derpy looks over to the figure of light sadly.

“Arc will be with you... always. Remember that.”

She looks over her shoulder at the motionless body of her one and only friend as a single tear courses down her cheek.

“I know. Although we didn't know each other very long, I will always treasure the time we spent together, in my heart.”

As she and Arc pass through the tear the being of light watches them closely.

“…as will I…”

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