The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

*Chapter 2 - Ember's Dilemma

Several weeks pass. Arc quickly notices that Ember has seemed distracted since coming with him to Ponyville. On evening, she sits on her bed staring out the window looking toward the sunset. Arc enters the room and quietly calls out to her.

“Ember, supper will be ready in about an hour.”

She does not acknowledge his presence with anything more than a silent nod. Arc walks over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Ember says nothing but puts a claw on Arc’s hand and holds it. He respectfully remains behind Ember, unmoving, but says nothing further. A few minutes pass before Ember speaks as she continues to look out the window.

“I... I've been thinking... about my... our future.”

“What about it?”

“Remember what you said... about humans not living past a hundred years?”

Arc nods. “Yes, I do.”

“It's just... I mean... if you were a dragon...”

Ember groans and she shakes her head as if to clear it before speaking again.

“Ugh, my mind is a mess! Why something like this so hard for me to put into words?!”

Arc smiles at her. “Take your time. I'll wait.”

Ember speaks in a very sad tone. “My Dragon Code... I mean… if you were a dragon, this would be a simple matter. But... with you being a different species entirely... not to mention one that has such a short lifespan... I just... I just don't know what to do?”

“Tell me more about the Dragon's Code. Who wrote it?”

“The Dragon's Code was written by the dragons of old, millennia ago. Their names have long since been forgotten natural, but all dragons great and small must live by it. Or face judgment by the Dragon Lord.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I see. And the Dragon Lord has the final say over the Dragon's Code, and how it's interpreted?”

Ember nods. “Yes. In the event of a disagreement, or a matter in which the Code is not easily understood, a dragon may petition the Dragon Lord to intervene, give guidance, or grant an exemption from the Dragon's Code entirely. The latter is quite rare, but the Dragon Lord does have the power to do such a thing.”

“Can't we just go to your homeland and explain to the Dragon Lord that you found me worthy before understanding that my species life is so short?”

“I would normally say yes. But you see, I was banished and can't go back until I fulfill his order to become as strong a warrior as he is.”

“Well in that case, can we contact him some other way? Like, I don’t know… send him a letter, or something?”

Ember quickly stands up, her eyes wide. “Arc, you're a genius! Now why didn't I think of that...?!”

Arc chuckles as he watches Ember hurry over to a pencil and paper lying on his dresser. “Glad I could help!”

Ember quickly begins writing a letter to her father explaining the issue with the Dragon's Code interpretation and asking for clarification and advice. Finishing her task, she holds up and blows on the letter. As it bursts into flames a magical smoke from its remains whisks it away out the window to the southeast towards the Dragon Lands. Turning to him, Ember grins widely.

“Alright. It’s done.”

Arc watches the smoke as it flies out of sight. “Hopefully the Dragon Lord can straighten this all out for us.”

“I'm sure he can. My father is a wise and fair ruler... if a bit... overzealous. And now I'm worried again.”

Arc puts a hand on her should and smiles. “Well, nothing to do but wait for a response then. Come on, let's get the table set for supper.”

Ember, seeming more like herself, agrees and follows Arc out of the bedroom. Sometime later Arc, Ember, and Derpy sit down to a nice family supper. Derpy happily feeds Dinky a bottle as Arc looks to her.

“An excellent meal, Derpy!”

“Thank you very much, Arc. I'm glad you liked it.”

Ember finishes her own food and smiles sheepishly. “I have to confess, I was a bit worried when I first came here, knowing that I would have to eat pony food. While it might sound a bit strange to you, dragon's aren't much for cooking their food... or table manners for that matter. But I admit I am enjoying the meals here!”

Derpy smiles and nods. “You are too kind, Miss Ember!”

“Please, just call me Ember!”

“All right… Ember. And I’d like to say that it’s good to have yet another friend living here.”

Derpy suddenly gets a faraway look in her eyes. Arc looks over to her, suddenly concerned.

“Derpy? Is everything all right?”

With a shake of her head, Derpy snaps back to reality and looks to him sheepishly. “Sorry. It's just... well... it really wasn't very long ago that I lay on my mat in front of the fireplace... alone.”

Arc stands up and walks over to Derpy. He puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles down at her.

“Don't worry, Derpy. Those days are now behind you. Just remember that as long as you live in Ponyville, you will never truly be alone.”

“Thank you, Arc…”

Ember suddenly stands up so quickly she knocks her chair over. Arc looks to her in surprise as he speaks.

“Ember?! What's wrong?!”

He and Derpy quickly see that Ember’s body has begun to glow and she is scratching herself all over. Grunting as she scratches, Ember eventually speaks.

“It's... it's the Call of the Dragon Lord. I'm being… being summoned.”

Derpy look over, clearly worried. “What do we do?!”

“The only way to make it stop is to heed the call! I must appear before my father!”

Arc folds his arms over his chest. “You mean that WE must appear! This concerns me too, you know!”

Ember nods. “Yes, Arc. You’re right.”

Derpy looks down at Dinky sleeping in her hooves. “Does… does this mean you have to leave again so soon Arc?”

“I’m afraid so, Derpy. But don't worry about me. I'll be back before you know it.”

Derpy stands and lays Dinky in her bassinet before hurrying over to the mantle and taking down the Spear of Hope. She returns to Arc and holds it out to him soberly.

“Take this, Arc. It will keep you safe.”

Arc accepts the weapon soberly. “Thank you, Derpy. Although I hope I won't need it.”

Ember looks to the wall clock. “We had best get a good night's sleep so we can get on the road early tomorrow morning.”

Derpy looks sad at the turn of events. “I wish I could go, but...”

Arc nods as he interrupts her. “I wish you could come too Derpy. But I’m sure we can both agree that Dinky needs a full-time mother.”

“I know… so why don’t you two turn in for the night? Like Ember said, you have an early morning ahead.”

Ember yawns. “That we do. Come on, Arc.”

“Go on ahead, Ember. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

Nodding, Ember stands and heads for their bedroom. Rising as well, Arc walks with Derpy over to Dinky’s bassinet. They look down at her silently for a few moments before Arc turns to Derpy and speaks.

“She’s just so adorable!”

Derpy nods happily. “Even more so when she’s asleep somehow.”

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

“Yes, Arc. You won’t be gone that long, I would assume.”

“I’m not actually sure how long this will take, as I don’t know what route we’re going to take or even the method of travel will be.”

Derpy sighs. “Here’s hoping that you don’t have to rely on a lot of legwork.”

“Yes, well… I’ve have Ember give us both a rundown of the plan tomorrow morning over breakfast.”

“That would be appreciated. I’d worry less then.”

Arc chuckles. “Me too.”

Derpy looks to the bedroom door. “But you should probably follow Ember’s lead and get some rest now.”

“I will, yes.”

“And don’t worry about getting up with Dinky tonight. After all, you need your rest.”

Arc chuckles as her gently pets Dinky’s mane. “Aw… but I love doing that.”

Derpy smiles as she covers the young filly with her baby blanket. “I know you do, Arc. But like what was said earlier, both you and Ember need to get a good night’s sleep.”

“Yes, well… when I get back I’ll take over doing that for you, Derpy. After all, you need your sleep as well.”

Derpy grins as she points to the bedroom with a hoof. “Thank you for all you do for me, Arc. Now please get some rest.”

Arc nods and heads for his room. “Alright, I will. Goodnight, Derpy.”

“Pleasant dreams’ Arc.”

She walks over to her mat a few paces away and lies down. Looking at the bassinet nearby, she smiles happily and closes her eyes before calling out in little more than a whisper.

“Sweet dreams, Dinky. I know you’ll grow up big and strong one day.”

Meanwhile, Arc enters his room and shuts the door behind him. Ember is already lying on her bed waiting for him impatiently.

“Took long enough out there!”

Arc chuckles. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to talk to Derpy while we put Dinky to bed.”

“And that’s all well and good. But we need to get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow, Arc. I don’t want you passing out from exhaustion on the trip.”

“Yeah, about that. Can we get a rundown of the route tomorrow morning? Derpy’s kinda worried about us and it would help if she knew where exactly we were going.”

Ember groans. “Fine. I’ll show both of you on the map what the plan is. But for now we just need to rest.”

“Alright.”

Heading for his bed, Arc sits down on the side of it and removes his boots. Pushing them under the bed with his foot, he looks up to see Ember holding her covers up and smirking.

“Wanna join me?”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Join you?”

Ember nods. “In bed.”

“We have two of them for a reason though.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But it would be just like old times back in my place when we would sleep together.”

Arc sighs. “That was more out of necessity than anything else. Nights got really cold over there, after all.”

Ember grins. “True. But I loved every moment of it. And not just because I hate being cold, I mean.”

“Oh?”

“It was just… nice. Lying next to someone whom was worthy of me.”

Arc bows his head. “The Dragon’s code.”

Ember nods. “Yup. It was good for me, and I’m sure you liked it too.”

“It was more along the lines of me not wanting to wake up freezing in the morning.”

Ember groans as she allows her covers to cover her body. “Fine then. You’ll sleep in your bed and me in mine. Boring as that is.”

“Glad we came to an agreement here, Ember.”

“Agreement, nothing! I’m just too tired to argue with you about it.”

Arc shrugs. “Either way, it’s resolved.”

Ember rolls over to face the wall as she grunts. “Call it what you will.”

“Good night, Ember. And don't worry about a thing. The Dragon Lord will sort this out for us tomorrow.”

Ember grimaces as she closes her eyes. “Yes… at least I sure hope he will. Or can for that matter.”

Comments

[The_Forgotten_One]

No comments? Looks like it's my time to shine

[ChakatRedstripe]

Something I wondered, can all dragons send mail or just spike. Kinda leads into spike being different than most dragons and has a greater access to magic.

[Kamahido]

11097680
For the sake of my story I'm assuming that all dragons can send mail in that way by visualizing whom they want to the letter to go to and then burning it with magic fire.

In my mind it's a 'racial trait'.