The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 6 - Dinner Conversations

Later that day as the sun approaches the horizon The Equinox nears its destination. Auriel walks over to Arc as he works at the kitchen counter.

“The captain said we should be landing in an hour or so.”

Ember frowns. “Great. I always find our landings a bit… jarring.”

Dinky turns to look at her. “Why’s that, Miss Ember?”

“Probably because I’m not really in control.”

Derpy sighs. “I feel the same way, Ember. But that’s probably just the pegasus in me.”

Ember turns to Arc.

“What about you?”

Arc responds, but does not look up from his work. “Eh?”

“You’ve flown before. How’s The Equinox to you?”

Arc shrugs. “I don’t have much memory of my past flights. Too much going on back then, Ember.”

Frank raises an eyebrow. “You flew, my friend?”

“Twice, yes.”

Dinky grins with evident pride. “I remember you teaching Matron Tempest a lesson, dad!”

Derpy shudders. “I’m sure she hasn’t forgotten that.”

Frank turns to Ember.

“I believe you left that story out.”

Ember sighs. “Yeah, well… I wasn’t there for that one.”

Arc nods. “It ended well enough, I suppose. And Tempest isn’t terrorizing innocent foals anymore.”

Twilight frowns as she helps load a cart with plates. “True. But now she has her sights set on YOU!”

“Better me than them.”

Dinky grits her teeth. “If she comes back we’ll send her packing, right dad!”

Arc looks over at Dinky and smiles. “Sure, sweetheart.”

His earring chirps.

“Go ahead.”

“Lemon Hearts here, sir. Moon Dancer has detected some rather strange readings coming from the Cargo Hold.”

“Any idea on the source?”

“She’s headed there now in an attempt to ascertain that.”

“I’ll join her.”

“Very well, sir. I’ll radio ahead for her to wait for you before proceeding.”

“Thanks. Arc out.”

He turns to the others as he touches his earring.

“I need to go check on something in the Cargo Hold.”

Twilight looks confused. “Oh?”

“Something down there is causing some strange readings. I just want to help Moon Dancer get to the bottom of it.”

Auriel looks worried. “You don’t suppose it’ll damage our equipment, do you?!”

Arc shakes his head. “I doubt it. Your things are secured in what I’m told is a shielded container.”

Ember frowns. “What about the essence?”

Twilight turns to Ember. “It’s contained in a specially designed keg that Auriel designed for transporting it.”

Auriel nods. “Yes, my tests have shown that the magically charged essence will be unable to permeate the… keg, as Twilight calls it.”

Arc shrugs. “Well, I’ll go find out.”

Dinky calls out after her father. “Can I come too?”

Arc shakes his head as he calls out from the doorway. “No, Dinky. Stay here with your mother and finish making supper.”

“Aw…”

“Listen to your father, sweetie.”

Ember nods. “Yeah. It’s probably nothing.”

Frank turns to the others. “I’m rather skeptical about that. After all, the sensors are picking SOMETHING up.”

Auriel sighs. “That’s true. But if Arc isn’t worried about it, we shouldn’t be either.”

Meanwhile, Arc makes his way to the Lower Deck. Appearing on the teleporter pad he spots Moon Dancer waiting for him. She salutes.

“Hello, sir. I’m sorry you had to come all the way down here for this.”

“It’s fine. Now then, what seems to be the problem?”

Moon Dancer holds up a device in her hoof. “A short time ago I began picking up strange signals down here. Originally I thought it to be simply a glitch in our system.”

“Did you test the equipment?”

Moon Dancer nods. “Yes sir. Diagnostics show that my console is working as intended. However, these readings are very strange indeed.”

“Can you pinpoint where they’re coming from?”

“That’s just it, sir. They appear to be coming from the Cargo Hold itself.”

“I don’t understand. Isn’t that why we’re down here?”

Moon Dancer shakes her head. “No, no. I mean, the readings show the hold itself is the source.”

“You mean the hull?”

“Truthfully, the entire Lower Deck, sir.”

Arc puts a hand to his chin and looks over to Twilight’s crates and keg.

“Has anything been added to our supplies down here other than that which I brought aboard?”

“According to our records, no.”

“So it has to be something Twilight brought along. Can you tell me if the readings are higher in one particular spot?”

“No, sir. Everything down here reads equally strange. Think of it like a thick mist of strange readings.”

“I’d like to propose an experiment. Tell me, do you have your comm link?”

Moon Dancer nods as she points to a small device behind her ear. “Yes sir.”

“Good.”

He touches his earring.

“Arc to Lemon Hearts.”

“Lemon Hearts here. Go ahead, sir.”

“We’re going to try something down here. Can you connect my earring to Moon Dancer’s comm link?”

“Yes sir. One moment…”

She pushes a few buttons before speaking again.

“Moon Dancer, radio test.”

Moon Dancer clears her throat. “Testing. Can you hear me, sir?”

“Yes. Now then…”

Arc walks over to the keg and picks it up. A moment later Arc Blinks. Moon Dancer gasps and looks around.

“Sir? Where did you…?”

“Check your readings.”

“Yes sir. Right away.”

She looks over the device in her hoof. Moon Dancer gives it a few taps with her hoof before responding.

“According to my portable scanner, the levels of… whatever I picked up are slowly dropping. I should probably double check my console back on the Bridge to verify these readings though.”

“Go ahead. Let me know the moment you know something though.”

Moon Dancer walks toward the teleporter pad. “Yes sir. It shouldn’t take but a few minutes to verify.”

She teleports back to the Bridge. Heading quickly to her console, she presses some buttons and looks over the readouts.

“Sir, my console confirms what my scanner indicated. The levels of the mysterious readings are dropping.”

“Good. Now I want you to scan aft of the ship’s current position.”

“Yes sir. What should my target be?”

“Can you lock onto my earring?”

“With Lemon Heart’s help, yes.”

“Do it.”

Moon Dancer turns to Lemon Hearts. “Did you catch that?”

Lemon Hearts nods. “Yes. Just give me a few seconds…”

She looks over her screen for a few moments before speaking.

“Lemon Hearts here, sir. Forgive me, but I think there may be a slight malfunction. My console shows you on the ground some distance behind us.”

“Your readings are correct.”

“Sir?”

“I Blinked down to ground level with that keg. What do your sensors show regarding those readings, Moon Dancer?”

“It appears you’re at the epicenter of them at the moment. However, the readings are much weaker than they were before for some reason.”

“Any idea why?”

Moon Dancer sighs. “I have to be honest with you, sir. Right now I don’t even understand what these readings are. Much less the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’.”

“Keep at it. In the meantime, what exactly should we do about this?”

Wrangler frowns. “It should probably be transported some other way. We don’t want the ship blowing up.”

Moon Dancer shakes her head. “The readings didn’t indicate any threat to the ship. But they are still quite puzzling.”

Arc kneels down and picks the keg up. “Well, I can’t just leave it here. What do you think, captain?”

“This is your vessel, sir. If you and the Science Officer believe there is not imminent danger to the ship or its crew…”

Soarin shakes his head. “Sir, we can’t just dismiss those readings so casually!”

Thunderlane turns around. “Agreed, sir. I don’t like the thought of potentially piloting a floating bomb!”

Lemon Hearts grimaces. “What should we do, sir?”

Arc sighs. “Normally I would just put it in my ring for safekeeping. But past experiences have shown that isn’t going to work. Is there a possibility it’s reacting to me?”

Moon Dancer shakes her head. “You weren’t anywhere near it when I picked up the readings, sir.”

Soarin turns to the captain. “Perhaps we should test that theory.”

“What did you have in mind, commander?”

“If some distance was put between the Hero of Light and that substance, we could potentially have our answer.”

Arc nods. “Alright, let’s try it.”

He sets the keg on the ground as he calls forth a gauntlet and creates a sigil. Stepping onto it and powering it up he reappears on the sigil in his quarters.

“What are you picking up now, Moon Dancer?”

“The readings are again on the rise.”

Arc nods. “One second.”

He powers up the sigil and returns to his place next to the keg.

“Levels dropping, sir.”

Lemon Hearts frowns. “This doesn’t make sense.”

Arc sighs. “Agreed. But we can’t just leave it here.”

Tight Ship calls out. “It’s your choice, sir.”

Arc thinks for a moment before responding.

“I guess I’ll just have to carry it with me. Someone’s going to have to keep an eye on those sensors though.”

Tight Ship nods. “We’ll take turns watching the monitor tonight, sir.”

“Good. Make sure it’s never left unattended.”

Soarin sighs. “Yes sir.”

Arc kneels down and pats the keg as he touches his earring and curst the feel.

“You’re an awful lot of work. I really hope Twilight’s idea pans out.”

Sometime later Arc re-enters the Kitchen. Dinky looks over to him.

“We’re almost done cooking, dad!”

Derpy nods. “Yes. I hope you’re…”

She looks at him, confused as Twilight raises an eyebrow.

“Arc? What are you doing with that?”

Arc shrugs as he holds the keg on his shoulder. “It would appear this was the source of the strange readings.”

Auriel shakes her head. “That’s impossible. The keg should be more than enough to contain the substance within.”

“Well, the instruments on the Bridge disagree.”

Ember points toward a porthole. “Well then, get rid of it!”

Twilight cries out. “NO!”

Auriel hurries over to Arc. “We need this!”

Arc nods. “Don’t worry, you two. I’m not disposing of this stuff.”

Dinky eyes the keg suspiciously. “Is it dangerous, dad?”

“Moon Dancer said the readings were strange. But not dangerous strange, I guess.”

Frank turns to Arc. “So… what now?”

“According to the instruments on the Bridge, if I keep this cask with me it… settles down.”

Derpy raises an eyebrow. “This is very confusing.”

Ember rolls her eyes. “Tell me about it.”

Auriel looks the keg over. “This situation is most puzzling. The entire time Twilight and I were extracting this substance, we never once picked up anything other than latent magical energy.”

“The Bridge crew will monitor me and this keg. If anything strange happens they’ll notify me immediately.”

Dinky breathes a sigh of relief. “Good!”

Frank calls out from the oven. “Arc, it would appear both of the lasagnas are done. Shall I pull them out?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Using his magic, Frank carefully pulls the pans from the oven and sets one gently on the counter as the other lands neatly on the cart.

“There we are. They’ll take some time to cool.”

Twilight points a hoof to the dinner cart. “If you’d like, I can push this to the Bridge, Arc.”

“Fine. I’m sure the crew is as hungry as we are.”

Auriel walks over to her. “I’ll come with you, Twilight.”

Twilight nods. “Can you grab the pitcher of water from the refrigerator?”

“Sure.”

Retrieving the water, Auriel sets it on one on the cart’s shelves next to the glasses as the pair head for the door. Twilight looks back.

“We’ll be back in a bit.”

Ember grins. “Better hurry. We might eat this whole thing before you get back.”

Frank chuckles. “That would be quite the sight to behold.”

Derpy giggles. “Especially with how hot it is.”

Twilight and Auriel leave the Kitchen and proceed toward the teleporter pad.

“Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“What do you suppose the bridge crew picked up? I mean… it can’t be the essence… can it?”

Twilight shrugs. “Who knows? After all, we still don’t know everything about this new branch of science you’ve discovered. But that’s part of what makes this so interesting!”

Auriel sighs. “I suppose.”

“What’s wrong? I would have thought you’d be as excited as I am.”

“Well… I do like experimenting and new discoveries. But I’m a bit concerned after this revelation.”

“How so?”

“As you know, back in Tartarus my father had me building weapons in an effort to allow my kind to escape. My greatest fear wasn’t that my inventions would fail… but that they would succeed.”

“I think I understand what you mean. But what does this have to do with weapons?”

“What if this is dangerous? I mean… someone could find a way to weaponize my discovery!”

Twilight smiles at her friend. “Auriel, every aspect of science can theoretically be used to cause harm. Electricity that powers our homes can kill us. Fire that keeps us warm in winter can level a forest. Medicine administered in too high a dose can become poison. It’s all about the application and intensity.”

“But what if this doesn’t go as planned?! What if it hurts someone?! Arc would be very unhappy!”

“Auriel, Arc wouldn’t have agreed to this if he thought it would pose a danger to either of us or Equestria.”

“I suppose so. But… I just…”

“Auriel?”

Auriel sighs. “I just don’t want to let him down.”

Twilight smiles at her friend. “You won’t. But what’s this all of a sudden?”

“Arc believed in me when no one else in this land did. Even after I created the Malice Cannon and nearly breached the Gates of Tartarus with it.”

“That’s in the past, Auriel. You’ve proven to everypony that you’re not like those imprisoned in Tartarus.”

“Have I really, Twilight? Remember, not even the princesses wanted me in this land back then. When they said I should be returned home, Arc personally escorted me there. But when my father told me I was banished, he was also the one who saw to it I was cared for and housed until I met you. He… he willingly helped a demon like me. Anyone else would have probably just slit my throat and been done with it. To this day I don’t know why he gave me the chance.”

“I know why.”

“You do?”

Twilight nods. “Yes. You were an alien in our land back then. But so was Arc when he arrived. He knew just how hard it was for you to be here. That and he told me how you helped him escape with the Malice Cannon’s power source.”

Auriel sighs. “Yes. I knew that the Bloodstone would be nothing but trouble the moment I lay eyes on it.”

“Is that why you escaped with it? To protect Equestria?”

“Partially, yes. The other part was to protect my father.”

“King Malevolence?”

Auriel nods. “Had the Bloodstone remained in Tartarus the Malice Cannon could have theoretically been rebuilt and fired. That most certainly would have led to all-out war between demons and ponies.”

“Yes. Your father would have certainly led the demons to destroy everything.”

“He would have tried to anyways.”

Twilight shudders. “Considering what I’ve seen of his forces, I think he would have done more than just try.”

“Yes, well… you’re forgetting Equestria’s own secret weapon, Twilight.”

“Secret weapon?”

Auriel nods. “The Hero of Light. Do you really think Arc would have let your citizens be butchered without a fight?”

“Certainly not. But I don’t believe he has the strength to take on your father.”

“Maybe not. But I’d wager he would have found a way to stop him.”

She stops and looks out the window at the picturesque landscape before them and sighs.

“Both sides would have taken heavy casualties. No one would have won.”

“I’m glad it didn’t come to that.”

“So am I. But who’s to say it will never happen?”

“The extract?”

Auriel nods. “Yes. There’s a chance it could be weaponized by the demons. Not much of one without me there, but still worth noting.”

“So we shouldn’t do this?”

“Part of me believes that.”

“And the other?”

“My people deserve a chance at something better. They need hope. Without it they’ll go mad. Such would be a fate worse than death.”

Twilight looks to Auriel. “Then let’s give it to them.”

“Give? Give them what?”

“A chance at something better.”

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Aww, the Essence is lonely.

Wonder if it will hatch and think its Spikes sister or something.

[Kamahido]

10722595
Ha, ha! Now that would be hilarious! It's roughly the equivalent to essential oil here on Earth though.

Then again stranger things have happened!

[Hye]

Methinks that they accidentally created the first thermonuclear weapon.