The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 1 - Unreasonable Requests

Several days later, Arc and the others eat an early breakfast around his kitchen table. Ember is barely awake.

“Did we have to wake up THIS early?!”

Arc nods. “Yes. I wanted to have a good breakfast before we left.”

Derpy smiles at him. “These past two weeks really flew by!”

Dinky grins. “Right! It feels like we just got here, and now we have to go home.”

Arc turns to his squad. “Are you boys sure you’ll be okay here?”

Hugh nods. “We should be fine.”

Viktor chuckles. “Someone needs to monitor the situation here.”

Xenos looks toward the stairs. “Yeah! And look after Cybil while you’re gone.”

Max smiles. “Not to mention Shelly and Lily.”

Sereb shakes his head. “Those two should be fine. However, Cybil is another matter entirely.”

Ember frowns. “Is she still sleeping?!”

Arc nods. “She’s working third shift, remember?”

“Oh I remember that. I just don’t know what the heck it means!”

“Oh… right! That means she works nights.”

Max sighs. “That won’t do when she gets a place of her own. Someone needs to be there with Angel at night.”

Arc sighs. “I know. Marshal Raynor says if she does a good job he’ll see if he can find her something on days. Then she’ll be able to get her daughter off to school before heading off to work herself.”

Hugh grins. “Sounds like a plan.”

Xenos sighs. “If she can stay dry, that is.”

Derpy looks to the squad. “Hopefully some positive peer-pressure in that regard will help.”

Viktor looks confused. “Peer pressure?”

Arc nods. “Right! You guys don’t drink, so I’m hoping she’ll be able to keep the urge to do so at bay.”

Ember sighs. “She told me her old roommate Nadine used to be her regular drinking buddy. Your plan may just work, Arc.”

“In any case, we’ve stocked the fridge and cupboards for you guys. You can use my Jeep to make food runs or whatnot while I’m gone.”

Max nods. “Thank you, sir. We’ll contact you if something comes up.”

Hugh smiles. “If your pal Frank carries through on his word things should be a bit quieter around here.”

Arc sighs. “He did promise to keep his gang from doing so much economic damage. After all, he doesn’t want to destroy the town or anything.”

Derpy shudders. “It’s best you invited him when you did.”

Sereb nods. “Fortunately Shelly and Lily were able to convince him that his gang’s actions were hurting the town’s businesses as a whole.

Arc grins. “Maybe now people won’t be afraid to go out for a meal.”

Ember turns to him. “Looks like you made the town a bit safer, Arc.”

He shrugs. “Maybe not how I envisioned it, but the end result was satisfactory.”

They finish eating and quickly do the dishes. Ember, Derpy and Dinky hurry upstairs to put their robes on as Arc gives his squad instruction.

“Take care of things while I’m gone, okay?”

Xenos nods soberly as Arc hands him his keys. “Yes sir.”

Max turns to Arc. “Everything will be fine, sir.”

Hugh chuckles. “We’ll keep things moving along here.”

Viktor looks over. “If anything happens, we’ll be in touch.”

Arc nods. “I have faith in you boys.”

A short time later Arc, Derpy, Dinky, Sereb and Ember head for the portable recall unit. Arc touches his earring.

“Arc to Sunburst. Come in please.”

“Right here sir!”

“We ready to come back?”

“Yes sir! All calibrated and ready on this end.”

“We’ll be coming though shortly. Standby.”

He activates the recall unit and turns back to the others as the portal forms.

“Everyone ready?”

They nod. One by one everyone steps through the portal. Arc turns back to his squad before stepping through himself.

“You guys are doing a great job. Keep it up and stay safe!”

He steps through the portal and vanishes. As the portal closes behind him Max turns to the others.

“Anyone else feel a bit… different?”

Hugh shrugs. “A bit, I guess.”

Xenos frowns. “What do you suppose it is?”

Viktor walks over to his computer and sits down. “It’s probably just the fact we’re home alone. I mean, before we had a commanding officer around at all times. Here were completely on our own.”

Xenos sighs. “It sounds bad when you say it like that.”

Max shakes his head. “Not really. The commander must really put a lot of faith in us though to let us use his house and vehicle while he’s gone.”

Hugh nods. “Let’s try not to let him down!”

Viktor scans his screen. “Agreed.”

Meanwhile, Arc and company step out of the portal in Princess Celestia’s room. Dinky looks down at her hooves.

“Aww… I liked having fingers.”

Derpy smiles. “It was certainly a… different experience. But a good one nonetheless.”

Ember looks back at the portal as it collapses behind them. “You think those guys will be okay without us?”

Sereb nods. “They will be fine.”

Arc turns to Ember. “Sereb’s right. I didn’t leave behind children. I left intelligent, resourceful, trustworthy and loyal soldiers. They’ll be fine.”

Sunburst calls over to them as he finishes shutting down the machine. “Welcome back, sir! I trust your trip went well.”

“Very! I…”

Dinky looks out the window. “Look dad! It snowed while we were gone!”

Sunburst nods. “The very day you left, mind you.”

Ember joins Dinky in looking out the window. “Not nearly as much as back on Earth though. But I imagine it’s just as cold.”

Sunburst shrugs. “About as much as can be expected this time of year.”

He turns to look at Arc soberly.

“Sir? The Captain of the Royal Guard wanted to speak with you as soon as you arrived.”

Derpy frowns. “Is something wrong?”

“No ma’am. Captain Shining Armor wanted to speak with the Hero of Light regarding some kind of personal matter. He did not elaborate further though.”

Ember chuckles. “Sounds mysterious! Let’s go!”

Derpy looks to Arc. “We should be getting back to Ponyville. Coco Pommel would probably like some help with breakfast.”

Arc calls forth his gauntlet and opens a portal back to Derpy’s house. “Okay. Not sure when I’ll get home, but I hope you two have a good day.”

Derpy and Dinky step forward and give him a hug.

“Take care of yourself.”

“Yeah dad! Come home soon!”

Arc nods and returns the hug. “I will. It was good to spend some time with you two. Sorry if I had work to do though.”

Derpy smiles. “It’s okay. We know you have many things to do. You actually spent more time with us than I thought you would.”

“We had a blast, dad!”

Arc nods. “We’ll have to do something like this again sometime soon.”

They step back, give Arc a smile, and disappear into the portal.

Arc turns to Ember and Sereb. “Why don’t you two head on back to Light’s Hope? I’ll be there after I speak with Shining Armor.”

Ember nods. “Sure! Don’t be all day though.”

Arc nods as he gestures to the portal. “I’ll try.”

She and Sereb disappear into the swirling energies. Arc closes the portal behind them and turns back to Sunburst.

“Any leads on Princess Celestia’s location?”

“We’re getting closer, but have yet to pin down an exact location I’m afraid.”

Arc nods. “Let me know if I can help with that.”

“Thank you sir. But it’s only a matter of time now.”

“Alright. I’ll head over the Shining Armor’s office now.”

“Yes sir! I’ll keep you posted if we learn anything.”

Arc nods and leaves the room. He quickly makes his way down the corridor toward the Shining Armor’s Office. On the way he bumps into Trixie.

“S-sir! Welcome back!”

“Hi Trixie. How’s things been lately?”

She looks to him as they walk down the corridor together. “Fairly peaceful. The biggest thing on the horizon is the upcoming ratification of the peace treaty.”

Arc nods. “So Canterlot and Griffonstone were able to come to an agreement on that?”

“Yes sir. They’ve been going back and forth pretty much since you left.”

“Is that a good or a bad thing?”

Trixie shrugs. “Mostly good. From what Shining Armor told me, you already took care of most of the negotiations yourself.”

“I didn’t think I did THAT much!”

“Well, apparently you did. Somehow you were able to bridge the gap between our two nations. That’s never been done before.”

Arc smiles. “Well that’s good to hear. One less nation to declare war on us.”

Trixie nods. “So are you here to help Shining Armor with his little problem?”

“I am. At least as soon as I hear what it is.”

“Sunburst didn’t tell you?! This may be our biggest undertaking yet!”

Arc sighs as Trixie opens the office door for him. “And now I’m worried.”

They enter the office. Shining Armor is busy going over the paperwork that covers his desk. Trixie closes and locks the door behind them before approaching him and saluting.

“Shining Armor? Arc is here to see you.”

Shining Armor gets up and hurries over to him, clearly worried. “Arc! Thank goodness you’re here! I’ve got quite the problem on my hooves!”

Arc calls forth his armor and spear. “What’s wrong?! Are we being invaded?!”

Trixie shakes her head. “Worse! MUCH worse! It involves the princesses!”

“Did something happen while I was gone?!”

Shining Armor sighs. “Calm down, Arc! It’s not that kind of trouble!”

“Is there any other?!”

Trixie shrugs. “Kinda. It’s about a break for the princesses.”

Arc recalls his armor and spear. “Oh…”

Shining Armor smiles nervously at him. “Sorry if we made it sound more than what it was.”

Trixie nods. “But in all seriousness, this IS fairly important!”

“You see… when I was Captain Decimus’ lieutenant, he and the princesses were very close.”

Arc rolls his eyes. “Considering he tried to kill them, I find that very hard to swallow.”

Shining Armor shakes his head sadly. “Look, I don’t know what happened to him. The captain wasn’t the stallion I followed in the past. Something in him snapped… somehow.”

Trixie shudders. “He certainly wasn’t kind and gentle with me!”

“So what does this have to do with the princesses getting some time off?”

“You see, right after Hearth’s Warming is a bit of a lull in their schedule every year. Why or how, I don’t know. Captain Decimus, he… he would take them out one at a time for a… I guess you would call a… ‘Date Night’.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Date night?”

Shining Armor nods. “He cared for them deeply, but in a platonic sense, of course! I would stand nearby with a few guards during the evening keeping watch. They… they always appeared to be having a pretty good time.”

Trixie sighs. “With schedules and responsibilities as tight as theirs, it’s a wonder they EVER got out of the castle!”

Shining Armor nods. “Right! They need this!”

“I don’t understand what this has to do with me.”

Shining Armor looks down at his floor and sighs. “I… uh… don’t command the same amount of respect in their eyes as Captain Decimus did.”

Trixie frowns. “Don’t sell yourself short, Shining Armor! You’re a very brave and loyal stallion!”

“Thank you, Trixie. But I haven’t been around as long as Decimus! The princesses are very understanding of me, as I do my best to serve them. But I can tell they still look at me as a lieutenant.”

Arc looks confused. “So do you want me to talk to them?”

Beads of sweat begin to form on Shining Armor’s face. “Not… exactly.”

“Well then, what’s the plan?”

Trixie nods. “Do tell, Shining Armor. I’m as confused as Arc is right now.”

“I know you’re busy and all with investigations and diplomacy, but… do you think you could spare some time to… take them out?”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “You want me to ask the princesses… out on a date?!”

Shining Armor nods, sweating even more. “Y-yes sir! I… I understand you’re very busy and all. But they both respect you!”

Trixie sighs. “While I too am loathe to ask you for something like this, Arc, Shining Armor does raise a good point. The princesses do need to be protected, while at the same time be with somepony they know and trust.”

“I don’t yet fit that bill. So, do you think you could do it?!”

Arc sighs. “I don’t see why not. Have you spoken to them about this?”

Trixie nods. “Yes. We hinted at somepony else escorting them, but they seemed… I don’t know… miffed at the prospect.”

Shining Armor sighs. “I can only imagine me asking is like… trying to replace the errant Captain! As traitorous as his actions were, he still left behind VERY big horseshoes to fill!”

Trixie smiles at him. “You’re doing fine, Shining Armor. You’ll get there one day.”

Arc nods. “Not trying to get out of this, but I really am very busy these days. How about I take them both out together?”

Shining Armor shakes his head. “Not advisable. Captain Decimus always insisted on only taking one of them out at a time for security purposes.”

“If they were together somepony could take them both out all at once! That would be a crippling blow to our country!”

Shining Armor shudders. “We’ve already lost one princess. Losing another is unthinkable!”

“Fine. Does it matter who goes first?”

Trixie thinks for a moment. “Princess Luna should probably get some time off first. After all, she did take over most of the responsibilities of her sister.”

Shining Armor nods. “Agreed. However the choice is yours, Arc.”

“Princess Luna it is. Uh… how do I go about this?”

Trixie looks confused. “What do you mean?”

“Do I just… ask her out, or what? Am I supposed to bring her flowers or a gift? I literally have NO idea on the protocol regarding something like this.”

Shining Armor thinks for a moment. “I actually don’t know how Captain Decimus… did that.”

Trixie frowns. “But weren’t you his right-hoof stallion?”

“Yes. But things of a personal nature were always done in private.”

He looks over to Arc with a sheepish look.

“I’m sorry, but, I don’t think I can be much help with this.”

Trixie glares at Shining Armor “What is he supposed to do?!”

Arc shrugs. “I… I guess I’ll just go over there and ask her then.”

Shining Armor’s head shoots up. “NOW?!”

Arc shrugs. “No time like the present. That and this won’t get any easier if I put it off.”

Shining Armor sighs. “I suppose not.”

Arc turns to leave the office. “Although I do think I’ll head over to my quarters for a shower and fresh clothes.”

Trixie waves. “Good luck, Arc!”

Arc leaves the office. Trixie looks over at Shining Armor.

“He really is brave. I don’t think I would have been able to ask something so… personal of the princesses.”

Shining Armor hangs his head. “Nor could I.”

Meanwhile, Arc quickly heads to his quarters and steps into his bathroom with fresh clothes. He gets the water temperature just right and steps in.

“Oh boy…”

He sighs and lets the water run down his body for some time as he thinks.

“How am I supposed to do this?!”

Arc slowly washes his hair as he considers the problem. As he rinses the shampoo out, he mutters to himself.

“I’ve never asked anyone out before. Much less a ruling princess!”

Cherry calls out. “Arc? Why don’t you just…”

“WOAH!”

Arc turns around so quickly he slips on the tile floor and crashes to the tile floor of the shower.

“Are you all right, Arc?!”

He sits up slowly and rubs his forehead. “Y-yeah. Just… a little surprised. Sorry, but I was so focused on this matter that I completely forgot you were in there, Cherry!”

“It’s okay. To tell you the truth, I too was so busy thinking of what you could say I didn’t notice you had gotten into the shower. Forgive me!”

Arc sighs as he sits on the shower floor and leans against the wall, chuckling. “We’re made for each other, Cherry. Like peas in a pod.”

She giggles. “Right! And don’t worry! I’m not peeking!”

Arc stands up slowly. “Thanks.”

Cherry sighs contentedly. “That water does feel good though.”

“Does it?”

“Yes. Remember, I feel what you feel! Mentally and physically!”

Arc sighs as he continues washing his body. “So you know what I’m thinking right now, huh?”

“Yes.”

He washes the soap off. “What do you think I should do?”

“I’m not much for this sort of thing either. But I think Princess Luna is really just like any other mare when you get right down to it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she wasn’t always a princess after all. A long time ago, she was a young mare just like me.”

Arc nods as he steps out of the shower and towels off. “I know. She told me how she and her sister became princesses. But that still leaves the question of what to do about this.”

“Just head over there and ask her! Worst thing that can happen is she says no, right?!”

He chuckles as he puts on fresh clothes. “Or she could blast me with her magic.”

“You don’t really think she’ll do that… do you?”

“No, I don’t. So you think I should take the direct approach?”

“I do!”

Why’s that?”

“Because if I were in her position, that’s what I would want. A straightforward request without a lot of beating around the bush.”

Arc combs his hair, chuckling. “Okay, we’ll go with that. But if Princess Luna blasts me with her magic, I’m blaming you!”

Cherry giggles. “Deal!”

Arc walks out of the bathroom and stands in front of his full-length mirror. He looks himself up and down.

“Cherry? Do you think I should get a haircut before I…?”

“You’re stalling, Arc!”

He sighs. “I suppose I am. Well… might as well get this over with.”

Arc calls forth Eidolon’s Ward and, after a few more moments of contemplation, leaves his quarters and heads for the Audience Chamber. The guards immediately admit him. Arc walks quickly toward the princesses and, taking a deep breath, recalls his armor.

“Good morning, princesses.”

Cadance smiles at him as she and Luna step down from their thrones. “Good morning Arc! I trust you had a nice Hearth’s Warming!”

“I did. My family spent it back on Earth.”

Luna nods. “Any trouble over there?”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

Cadance looks Arc in the eye. “So what brings you here today?”

“I… uh… just wanted to ask you two about the peace treaty. Is it going as well as Shining Armor says it is?”

Luna nods. “Yes, indeed! The Griffon Council of Lords pretty much got what they wanted from you.”

“I hope I didn’t overstep my authority.”

Cadance shakes her head. “Not really. We sent you there as a peace envoy after all.”

Luna smiles “Yes. Although negotiating a full treaty was far beyond our expectations!”

“How did you know they would go for it?!”

“They were willing to give, but only if they felt their country would gain more than ours.”

Luna looks confused. “I’m sorry, but I don’t quite follow.”

“Think about it this way. They’re getting rid of their… unwanted younglings and in the process freeing up resources that could be diverted elsewhere.”

Luna nods. “And all we get is peace between our nations.”

“Right! To them, we’re getting the short end of the stick.”

Cadance shakes her head. “Not to sound callous, but I think we are.”

Luna turns to Cadance. “I must disagree, Cadance. A war would be much more costly than expanding our orphanage facilities. Not to mention the irreplaceable loss of life that would result from the conflict.”

Arc nods. “Agreed. But there is more to it than that!”

Cadance turns to him. “Oh?”

“When the agreement is ratified by both sides, I will then have the treaty to fall back on for the next step in my plan.

Luna raises an eyebrow. “The next… step?”

“You remember what happened when you notified the Griffon Kingdom of Lord Goldstone’s actions during his last visit?”

Cadance sighs. “All too well. They gave us the runaround.”

Arc nods. “Right. If we had their law on our side the courts there would be more inclined to hear our case, would they not?”

Luna frowns. “So your plan wasn’t so much to negotiate peace, but to create a legal access point?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Luna. Peace is ALWAYS a noble goal! It just seemed like a good way to fix both problems at once.”

Cadance smiles. “That just might work. The griffons are VERY set in their customs and laws!”

Arc grins. “I played THEIR game by THEIR rules! In the end I intend to win! For Raven and for all the others Lord Goldstone has violated in the past!”

Luna nods. “Very impressive, Arc! You certainly put a lot of thought into this!”

“It seemed the easiest course of action once I understood how things worked in their country.”

Cadance’s eyes grow wide. “Gaining an audience with their leaders and negotiating a peace treaty was the EASIEST?!”

“Yes. Other ideas included assassination, subterfuge and deception. This way seemed to have the least amount of risks while gaining the most positive outcome.”

Luna nods. “I see it now. Had they rejected your offer, you could have just walked away and come up with something else.”

Cadance sighs. “Had you failed using the… other methods, we would immediately have gone to war with them!”

“True. None of us wants that now.”

Luna smiles. “I’m glad to see your plan came to fruition, Arc. We’ll need you to be there with us for the signing ceremony.”

Arc looks confused. “There?”

Cadance nods. “Part of the agreement was for the treaty to be signed at the Grand Aviary… whatever that is.”

“It’s where their king resides. Similar to Canterlot Castle.”

Cadance nods. “Makes sense.”

Luna nods. “It had to be either there or here. We agreed to do it their way to smooth out a few ruffled feathers during the process.”

Arc chuckles. “Did they give you much trouble?”

Cadance shakes her head. “Not really. Lord Gestal wants his daughter to attend the ceremony as well. But I got the feeling he wasn’t too keen on her leaving the safety of their lands.”

“With the rebels lurking around, I can’t really say I blame him.”

Luna nods. “We will notify you of the date as soon as we have it. Until then, just keep doing your best to protect these lands, Arc”

“I will.”

Luna turns partway toward her throne. “Very well. If there is nothing else…”

Arc interrupts her nervously. “There is one other matter I wanted to discuss with you, Princess Luna.”

Luna looks confused. “Just me?”

“No, it’s just…”

He sighs.

“Sorry. This is kinda hard for me.”

Luna points a hoof to their private office.

“Would it help if we spoke out of earshot of the guards?”

Arc nods. “Quite a bit actually.”

The three step into the office and close the door behind them. They sit down on the couches across from one another. Cadance looks concerned.

“Is something wrong, Arc? You’re not yourself.”

“Sorry. I’m… just a bit nervous!”

Luna smiles at him. “No need to apologize. What can I do for you?”

“I… uh… I was thinking that you’ve been working very hard lately. I just wanted to ask if… if you would like to get out of the castle for dinner sometime, Princess Luna.”

Luna blushes and appears quite taken aback at the offer. “W-what?!”

“Just as friends, mind you! I’m told you don’t get much time off.”

Cadance giggles. “Captain Shining Armor put you up to this, didn’t he?”

Arc sighs. “He… yes. Look, I won’t push the matter if you really don’t want to go. But even princesses deserve a bit of down time once in a while. Don’t they?”

“He’s right, Luna. That and you were just saying the other day how much you wanted to get away from it all for a bit.”

Luna sighs. “I guess I did.”

She ponders the idea for a few moments before looking back to Arc.

“Very well, Arc. I accept.”

“Good. How about the day after tomorrow?”

Luna nods. “I believe that would work.”

Cadance smiles. “I’ll see to it Kibitz pencils it in after you leave, Arc.”

“What time were you thinking?”

Arc thinks for a moment. “How about six o’clock?”

“Yes. Audiences would be over by then.”

“Fine! I’m looking forward to it!”

Arc calls forth his gauntlet and opens a portal back to Light’s Hope. Luna nods to him.

“I’ll see you then.”

“Right! Until then, Princess Luna.”

He steps through the portal and vanishes. Cadance looks to Luna.

“That was nice of Arc to ask you out. Most stallions wouldn’t have the nerve.”

Luna nods. “Yes. Decimus was the only other who was brave enough.”

Cadance smiles at her as the pair leave their office and walk back toward their respective thrones. “Well, I hope you two have a safe and happy night off.”

Luna sighs nervously. “As do I.”

Comments

[Pony addiction]

Bold

[Kamahido]

10204762
Which part? Shining Armor asking Arc to do this? Or Arc asking her out?

[GleamingKyler111]

10204901
Or the text itself?

[Kamahido]

11350316
I still don't get it.

[Solar_Wolf]

Arc nods. “Yes. I wanted to have a good breakfast before we left.”

*leave

[Kamahido]

11724682
Nope, that one was written as intended.