The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 3 - Destination

Arc and Scootaloo continue their journey. Days turn to weeks, and weeks turn to, well… you get the idea. Eventually one evening they come to a hill at the edge of the forest. Looking out they spot a town. Consulting the map, Arc nods soberly.

“That’s got to be it.”

“Vanhoover?”

Arc sighs as he folds up the map and puts it back in his pack. “Yeah.”

“Do we really have to do this, Big Brother?”

“Yes, Scootaloo.”

“But why?!”

“We’ve gone over this already. You can’t stay with me. It’s just too dangerous.”

“I…!”

“Listen. Your life with me… it just wouldn’t work out. As it stands you have no family or friends. No one to show you how life works or what you should be doing.”

“You can do that!”

Arc shakes his head. “No, I can’t. Truthfully, I don’t really know anything about your kind other than what I picked up in Knothole Village and in our travels.”

“Big Brother…!”

“Enough, Scootaloo. Come. We’re heading into town.”

“N-now?!”

Arc sighs. “Remember how I told you not to look at the moon earlier?”

“Yeah.”

“This is why. I knew we were getting close.”

“So did I, but… I didn’t know it was THIS close.”

“Now then… remember, you can’t let anyone find out about your past and your Crimson powers.”

Scootaloo groans. “I know.”

Arc activates his magic cloak. “Follow me.”

Walking down the hill Arc and Scootaloo enter the town. As they make their way down the crooked streets, they come to the Town Square. Finding a board with a town map Arc looks it over carefully.

“Looks like the orphanage is on the edge of town. We need to head north down this road and follow the signs.”

“Can we find some food first?”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “But we ate just an hour ago.”

“I’m a growing filly!”

Arc shakes his head. “No. We need to get you to the orphanage.”

“But…!”

“Scootaloo, this is hard for me too. Now please… follow me.”

Sighing, she does as Arc tells her. Soon a large building comes into view. Every window is dark and foreboding as the wind rustles through the trees overhead. Scootaloo looks at the double doors atop the steps for a long moment before turning back to Arc.

“Please don’t make me do this, Big Brother!”

“You… you have to.”

“But I really don’t want to! I just want to keep traveling with you!”

“I’m sorry, but… that can’t happen.”

“We could…!”

“You already know why.”

Scootaloo bows her head and nods. A tear courses down her cheek as she speaks.

“You… don’t want me around anymore?”

Arc shakes his head. “That’s not it at all, Scootaloo. I’ve loved every minute we’ve spent together.”

“R-really?”

“Really. You’ve always been kind to me. But right now I need to do what’s best for you. And that means leaving you here.”

Scootaloo cries as she turns to Arc. “But… but I want to stay! With you, Big Brother!”

“I want that too.”

“Then let’s do that!”

Arc shakes his head. “Sorry. I… I just can’t.”

“What about your memories?! What if they come back and you’re not a bad stallion?!”

“Huh?”

“Would you… could you come back and get me?!”

“I… I’d like to, yes.”

“Then promise me you’ll do that if you can!”

Arc kneels down in front of the sad filly and puts his hands on her shoulders.

“Sure. If at all possible, I’ll return for you if I can. But you have to promise me something as well.”

“Wha… what’s that?”

“That you’ll do your best to find a family and make friends here. Don’t wait for me to come back. Okay?”

“I… I…”

“Promise me, okay?”

Scootaloo nods. “I… I promise, Big Brother.”

She lunges forward into Arc’s arms. Pressing her face against his chest, Scootaloo cries for a long time. Arc wraps his arms around her in an effort to muffle her sobs and console her. Eventually the little filly has no more tears left to cry. Sighing, Arc sets her down and steps back.

“You’ll make friends here, Scootaloo. Now walk up to the door and knock.”

She nods and wipes the tears from her eyes. “I…! Okay… Big Brother.”

Scootaloo slowly ascends the stairs and stands before the doors. Looking back to Arc, she sees him nod and cloak. Taking a deep breath, she knocks. Hearing no reply she knocks again, this time louder. Waiting for some time, the filly looks back to where Arc is presumably standing.

“Um…”

“Maybe their bedrooms are too far from the door. Let’s hop the fence and see if we can find another way in.”

Helping her up, Arc tosses Scootaloo over the wood fence before jumping over himself. Landing on the ground next to her they look around. Scootaloo points a hoof at several large holes in the wood fence across the yard.

“Look at THAT!”

Arc frowns. “I wonder what happened…”

He clutches his head as he sees fragments of his battle with Tempest.

“More memories, Big Brother?”

“I… yeah.”

“What was it?”

“There was a mare here. She was wearing leather armor and looked REALLY mad.”

“A friend of yours?”

Arc shakes his head. “No. We were fighting.”

“Here? At the orphanage?”

“Yeah. No idea the reason though.”

He looks at the holes in the fence again.

“I’m not sure why or how, but… I know for a fact I made those holes during the battle.”

“What now?”

“See if you can find an unlocked window, or something. I’ll start over here. You try around the corner.”

Scootaloo sighs. “Okay.”

Arc begins testing the windows as Scootaloo walks slowly around the building. A few moments later she runs back to Arc.

“Big Brother, I found something!”

“A way in?

“Kinda!”

Leading him around the building, Scootaloo points to a large hole in the side of the structure.

“We could easily walk in there.”

Arc grimaces. “I… that hole… I made it too.”

“The battle?

Arc nods and steps forward. “Let’s get in there and look around. There has to be a night shift on duty somewhere.”

Helping Scootaloo through the hole, Arc hops in after her. They walk down the corridor together as Arc frowns.

“This place looks pretty run down.”

“Does it?”

“Oh, right. I forgot that you’re not in your Crimson form.”

Rummaging around in his pack, Arc pulls out a flashlight and hands it to Scootaloo.

“Try that.”

“Thanks.”

Flicking the switch, Scootaloo shines it around.

“You weren’t kidding about this place!”

“The staff here must be beyond lazy to leave such a mess. I mean, they could at least cover the giant hole in the wall!”

Scootaloo shudders. “Now I REALLY don’t want to live here!”

“Come on. Let’s find someone.”

Walking upstairs they come to the Dormitories. Scootaloo shines the light on the rows of empty beds. Several large blotches overhead show the telltale signs of severe roof leaks. The smell of mold and mildew permeates the air. Arc frowns.

“This can’t be right.”

“Big Brother?”

“No orphanage could be THIS bad!”

“Maybe its abandoned?”

“It has to be. After all, there’s no one here. Staff or orphans.”

Scootaloo walks over to a bed and sets her saddlebags on the footlocker before hopping up on the mattress.

“Maybe they’re just on a trip, or something.”

“That’s a possibility, I guess.”

“Should I… wait here for them to come back?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, Scootaloo. I’m not leaving you here.”

Scootaloo grins widely. “You mean…?!”

“Yeah. You can come with me.”

The filly jumps on the bed happily for several moments before bouncing into Arc’s arms.

“I’ll be the best little filly you’ve ever seen!”

Arc chuckles. “You already are. But I do appreciate your enthusiasm nonetheless. That just leaves the problem of where we go from here.”

“We have to figure out how to get your memories back!”

“Right. But I mean the here and now.”

“Oh?”

“Let’s look around. See if there’s anything here to jog more memories.”

Walking around the facility they look in every room they come to, but to no avail. Scootaloo sighs as they descend the stairs.

“Nothing, Big Brother?”

Arc shakes his head. “I’m drawing a blank. Which is kinda a good thing.”

“It is?”

“Yes. Considering what I remembered out in the yard I shudder to think why I was doing what I did.”

Coming to what appears to be a cafeteria, they proceed into the kitchen. A moldy smell emanates from the refrigerators. Scootaloo walks cautiously toward it.

“I wonder what…”

“Scootaloo.”

She turns to Arc. “Yes?”

“Whatever you do, don’t open that door.”

“Why not?”

“It smells bad enough in here as it is. Judging by the look of this place, whatever is in there has to be completely rotten by now.”

Scootaloo steps back. “Makes sense.”

“Let’s see if there’s anything to eat in the pantry.”

“Why would that be any better?”

“The stuff in there doesn’t go bad. At least not for a long time, that is.”

Finding boxes of food, they take them back to the cafeteria and sit down. Scootaloo sets the flashlight down and turns to Arc.

“Can I look at the moon now?”

Arc shrugs. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Running over to the window, she looks up. Gazing at the moon, Scootaloo transforms and walks back to Arc. Turning off the flashlight, she pours a bowl of cereal and begins to eat. Arc appears to be thinking.

“Planning our next move?”

“Something like that.”

“What’s the plan?”

“If the orphanage isn’t here anymore, they must’ve relocated somewhere else.”

“Okay. But where?”

“No idea.”

“So where do we go from here?”

“Well… we can try to find it ourselves.”

“How? Ask somepony?”

“Yeah. But…”

“Something wrong, Big Brother?”

“I keep remembering the bits of a battle here with a mare. Not sure I want to leave you in her care.”

“So… can I stay with you then?”

“For now, yes.”

“REALLY?!”

“Really. But if we find a loving family that’s looking to take in a filly…”

Scootaloo groans. “Do I have to?”

“Yes. But I’ll stick around for a while to make sure you’re happy with them before I leave, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Let’s finish eating and head back to the Town Square.”

“Sure. But what for?”

“I want to see if they have a Writ Board.”

“Looking for work?”

“In a manner of speaking. While we don’t really need the money, we can’t just sit around doing nothing.”

Scootaloo giggles. “Think there’s an orchard here that need fruit harvested?”

“Maybe. But we could also look for more bounties.”

“Yeah! That was fun!”

“Agreed. But I’m only interested in catching those whom would hurt others. Make the world a better place.”

A brief visage of Frank flashes in Arc’s mind as the words leave his mouth. Scootaloo frowns.

“Another memory?”

Arc nods. “Yes. But this time of a creature like me.”

“Not a pony?”

“No.”

“Maybe we could find a town with more creatures like you.”

“I suppose that’s possible. After all, I can’t be the last of my kind.”

“Right. So let’s keep going.”

“My idea has a second part to it though.”

“It does?”

Arc nods. “Yes. We’re going to spread the reputation of the Scarlet Filly.”

“Um… okay. But why?”

“I’m hoping we can use it to gain notoriety. Maybe a few criminals will think twice about causing trouble if we’re around. That is, if you’re up to it.”

“Sure. All we have to do is catch a few bounties in every town we come to and we’ll be famous in no time.”

“That and you could always just take your cloak off to hide in plain sight. We’ll do that here in Vanhoover before maybe heading south to Tall Tale and doing the same.”

“But what if there’s no bounties to be found?”

“Then we do other writs to get our name out there.”

“Okay. But that’s only two towns. Where else could we go?”

Arc leans down and opens his satchel. Pulling out the map, he opens it and lays it on the table.

“How about this? We stay a few days in Vanhoover before moving on to Tall Tale. From there we catch a train north to the Crystal Empire.”

“Sounds big.”

“Right. Big places can have big problems that need solving.”

“You okay taking the train?”

“I suppose so. That and you can’t be walking across the country all the time.”

“But I can handle it!”

“Oh? Why do you think I offered to carry you as often as I did?”

“Um…”

“You looked tired. That and I’m guessing it’s not good for someone so young to be traveling like that.”

Scootaloo looks over the map. “How about from there we…”

“Woah there! Let’s just see how well this goes before we make larger plans.”

“Okay. Should we head into town now?”

“Might as well. I sure don’t want to stick around this place.”

“Yeah. It’s kinda creepy here.”

Leaving the building, the pair return to town in the glow of the moonlight. Finding the Writ Board in the square they look it over.

“Hm… no bounties.”

Arc shrugs. “Guess they must have a large enough force here that they don’t need to rely on the public for help.”

“Not good for us though.”

“Like I said, we could do other things.”

“You see something?”

“Maybe. There’s an apothecary who needs someone to hunt down certain reagents in the wild. Sounds like it might be right up our alley.”

Scootaloo sighs. “Yeah. But that just reminds me of my dad.”

“We don’t have to do that if you really don’t want to, Scootaloo. But you are probably the best one for such a task.”

“I suppose so. Want to head over to their shop?”

“It’s the middle of the night. Let’s try in the morning.”

“Makes sense. What now then?”

“That looks like an Inn over there.”

“How can you tell?”

“It’s the only building with lights on. Only one way to find out though.”

“Let’s go.”

Heading for the building, they see a sign indicating it as the Inn. Entering, Scootaloo walks up to the counter, puts a large bag of bits on it, and rings the bell. A young stallion sleepily walks over to the desk from a nearby room and looks around. Scootaloo clears her throat loudly, prompting the stallion to look down.

“Hi. I’m looking for…”

“You’re the Scarlet Filly, aren’t you?!”

“Um… yes. But how did you…?”

“I heard about you from my grandfather. He runs the inn over in Dodge Junction. From what I gather you really did a number on that gang! Supposedly those left are all in hiding right now.”

“Actually, I caught the rest of them along with the leader. They’re in Canterlot right now.”

“Impressive! You looking for more work?!”

Scootaloo nods. “Yes. But at the moment I need someplace to get cleaned up and rest. Do you have a room with an extra-large bed?”

“We do indeed. But why do you need a larger bed?”

“I’m… restless when I sleep. A normal sized one just doesn’t work too well for me.”

“Sure. One moment.”

He pulls a key off a nearby board and steps around the counter.

“This way, please.”

The stallion leads them upstairs and to a large door.

“Our… larger guests use this room. You may find the furniture to be a bit oversized. But the bed should fit you needs.”

Opening the door, he steps aside and lets them enter.

“I’ll let you get some rest now.”

Scootaloo nods as she takes the key from him. “Thank you for your help.”

“Pleasant dreams.”

He closes the door as Scootaloo drops her saddlebags and Arc decloaks.

“That really is a big bed!”

Arc nods. “Yup. But it’ll do.”

“Yeah. Even though I’m not really that tired.”

“Well, we should probably get on a normal sleep schedule now. Don’t need to be trudging around the woods at night.”

“But we can see in the dark.”

“True. But it’s still not as good as sunlight to help us see.”

“I suppose not. Well, should we hit the hay for the night then?”

“Not just yet. There’s something we need to do first.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

Arc gestures to the bathroom. “Take a shower. After all that time in the forest, we’re ripe.”

Comments

[Munro]

to be honest it was starting to bother me that ark is so vehement to put the poor filly in an orphanage -.-

but i was eager to see what memory it would spar and find some cloue's to his past

im shure somehow they will end up in ponyfille somehow

and one thing reminded me from last chapter i think. is frank still in ponyfille ? Oo

[Munro]

11063364
oh yes celly was going all evil overloard there, decimus has her on leach with blindforld

[Kamahido]

11063418
He just wants what's best for her. Traveling around with a criminal isn't the life he wants for her.

Frank returned to Earth just before the attack on Damocles Base.