The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 11 - Over so Soon

The branch hits the ogre squarely in the back. Crying out in pain, he picks up a large rock and hurls it toward the mare. She runs back toward the cave.

“You’ll never hit me with that!”

“Wanna bet?!”

Throwing it, the rock sails through the air. Grabbing it with her magic, she redirects it slightly so that it shatters against the boulder pinning Arc to the wall. A piece hits her in the head, knocking her unconscious. Now free, Arc runs toward the ogre with all his might. Dodging rocks and fireballs, he eventually reaches his opponent. Toppling him, Arc forces him to drop Scootaloo as he pulls back the hood and allows the sunlight to shine on his victim. Crying out in apparent pain, the ogre turns back to what can only be described as his original form and falls to the ground. While still notably green, he is much less physically imposing. Removing his own cloak, Arc allows himself to change back before looking down.

“It’s over.”

Nodding, the ogre sighs weakly.

“Yes… it is.”

Scootaloo gasps as she catches her breath. “You won’t hurt anypony else now.”

“No. I’m… not long for this world.”

Arc frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve lived… so long. So much energy expended… my body is… just so old that I can feel it shutting down.”

Scootaloo turns to Arc. “His energy’s gone now. You took it, remember?”

“I didn’t take THAT much!”

“It was… enough. Use what I had… to make the world right.”

“But I don’t want to conquer!”

The ogre sighs. “You don’t… understand. My original… mission… was to do… just that.”

Scootaloo frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Protect and serve. I went out into the world… to attain that lofty goal. But… somewhere along the way I… I lost sight of what was important.”

He looks up into the trees overhead as he closes his eyes.

“Father… forgive… m…e…”

A single tear courses down his green cheek as the ogre breathes his last. Arc and company stand there wordlessly for a long time. After a while Arc kneels down and pulls his knife as Scootaloo turns to tend to the mayor. Making a small incision, he draws out the required amount of blood. Allowing it to fall into the crystal vial, he replaces the cork and shakes it slightly before returning to stand with Scootaloo. Eventually Arc turns to the shattered pieces of the large rock that had been thrown at him earlier.

“Big Brother? What are you doing?”

“Help me finish this.”

Picking up an armful of rocks, Arc walks back to the ogre and drops them on top of him. With Scootaloo’s help they cover him completely. Arc sighs.

“Rest in peace.”

Turning to the Scootaloo, he sighs.

“We should go back to town now.”

“But what about that moss?”

“The villagers can harvest it themselves now that the ogre is dead.”

Looking to the mayor he kneels down and picks her up.

“Let’s get her back to town and into a nice warm bed.”

“Good idea.”

Cloaking, Arc vanishes from sight as he pulls the mare into his robe. Walking back to town, he heads straight for the mayor’s small house. Entering through the back door he lays her down on the bed. Heading for a nearby window he opens it to allow Scootaloo in. Hopping inside she looks to the unconscious mare.

“How’s she doing?”

“Just unconscious. I think she took a blow to the head from that rock exploding earlier.”

“Yeah, that looked painful. So, do we just… leave her here?”

Arc shakes his head. “No. But I do hope she wakes up soon.”

As the sun sinks closer to the horizon, the mare slowly stirs. Sitting up she spots Scootaloo sitting next to her bed.

“What… happened?”

“You saved my Big Brother.”

“Who?”

“That robed thing with me.”

“I… did?”

Scootaloo nods. “Yep. He’s waiting for us in the other room. We should probably go see him.”

Nodding, the mayor slowly stands and walks with Scootaloo to the door. Arc sits in front of the fireplace waiting for them.

“You’re finally awake. Feeling okay?”

“Y-yes. Just a bit sore.”

“Good.”

She looks to the pair, confused. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask… what are you two?”

“A filly. Mostly anyways.”

“And I’m her guardian. Her parents died so I’m taking care of her.”

“But aren’t they criminals?”

Scootaloo shakes her head. “No. I just said that so you wouldn’t ask too many questions about them.”

“How did that lead you here though?”

“We’re on a bit of a journey to collect some magical reagents.”

Scootaloo nods. “Yeah. The fact that there was an ogre here was especially lucky for us.”

“How so?”

Arc holds up the crystal vial with a number of drops of the ogre’s blood.

“His blood was needed for the potion. But I have a question for you now.”

“You do?”

“Yes. What was that ogre trying to do exactly?”

“I don’t really know. He would trade us bits of moss from the cave for our energy. While not exactly pleasant, it did allow us to survive out here.”

“Why are you out here? I mean, there’s any number of towns that would be more hospitable than this tundra.”

“Everypony here has a bit of a past. We’re ultimately hiding from something or somepony.”

Arc frowns. “Is that why everyone is wearing those black cloaks?”

The mayor shakes her head. “Actually, no. The ogre required it. Said it did something to make draining our lifeforce easier. Not sure how it worked, but it constantly drained us.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore now that he’s been dealt with.”

“I guess not. But it also leaves us vulnerable.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Vulnerable?”

“Any threat to the village was always met with swift action by the ogre. After all, he couldn’t allow his source of energy to be imperiled. But now we have no such guard against wild animals or other threats.”

Scootaloo frowns. “Isn’t that better than being enslaved though? Being used as cattle?”

“I suppose time will tell.”

She turns to Arc and sighs.

“So… what do you want us to do?”

“…what?

“You absorbed the ogre’s power, so I assume we’re your slaves now.”

Arc shakes his head. “I’m not really into the slavery idea.”

“Huh?”

Scootaloo grins. “I’m his thrall, but he doesn’t really make me do anything I don’t want to.”

“With the cave and its contents open to you, hopefully you can make this town a bit more livable.”

“I don’t really understand, but thank you nonetheless.”

“We should probably be going now. Come along, Scarlet Filly.”

Scootaloo stands up. “Right behind you.”

“Scarlet Filly?”

Arc and Scootaloo leave and walk down the street. The mayor follows them outside and watches them as they move to the edge of town, as does the rest of the population. They turn to her, confused.

“Mayor… what just happened?”

“We… we went to the cave after you delivered the summons. But it… it didn’t go at all like I thought it would.”

“What happened?!”

“That filly and her… friend, they… they killed the ogre!”

Everyone gasps as they look to one another, confused.

“What happens now?!”

“We can’t live without the protection of the ogre! Can we?!”

“Everypony, please! We’ve been given a great opportunity here!”

“We have?”

The mayor nods. “Yes! For too long have we labored under oppressive yolks! Many of you were abused and burdened with the responsibilities not of your choosing! But look around you here and now! With the death of the ogre, there is nopony left to force their ideology on us! Nopony to abuse and threated us! And nopony to lord over us! So let us here and now build a town of peace, prosperity, and most importantly… freedom! We will create a place where everypony can exist on level hoofing with all others! This can and must happen! All of you will be safe, secure, and equal…!”

She removes her cloak and tosses it aside.

“Now everypony, tear off your robes! We’re not bound to the will of the ogre any longer! You will have peace and freedom…!”

Grinning as she watches the others remove their robes, the mayor concludes her speech.

“…or my name isn’t Starlight Glimmer!”

Meanwhile, Arc and Scootaloo walk into the hills nearby. Scootaloo looks to her friend, confused.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“Back to that cave.”

“The one we just left?”

Arc nods. “Yes.”

“Why?! You already have his blood.”

“That ogre offered to trade you for various items. There might be something there we can use.”

Arriving back at the cave they step inside and pass the green torches, changing them back into their Crimson forms. Making their way to a winding tunnel, the pair find themselves in the middle of a vast corridor of glowing iridescent moss.

“This must be what the townsponies were after.”

Arc nods. “Yes. And I imagine they’ll be up here to take it freely soon.”

“We should leave before then.”

“And we will. But first I want to see what this ogre had to bargain with.”

Making their way to a large cavern, they look around to see shelf after shelf of trinkets, odds and ends as well as numerous books. Scootaloo runs over to the items and looks through them before frowning.

“Nothing here looks too useful.”

“Agreed. So let’s continue on to his quarters.”

“Quarters?”

“Where he slept.”

“Why there?”

“Because that’s where we’ll find the really useful stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Information.”

Walking on, they come to a smaller room with a modest bed of straw and a small table and chair. A book lies closed on its surface. Arc looks down and picks it up as Scootaloo pipes up.

“What’s that?”

“A journal of some kind. Let’s see…”

Flipping through the pages, Arc skims the writing within.

“Looks like he started out pretty well. When the village was formed, he was its generous protector.”

“You mean the ponies and him lived together in harmony?”

“Sounds like it.”

“What changed?”

“His powers.”

“How so?”

“He mentions chronicling that which he discovered about himself after being bitten by a rogue Crimson a thousand years ago. Apparently that ogre was a student of his new found powers.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing inherently. But his desire for knowledge clouded his mind. As the entries go on he becomes more entitled and arrogant.”

“A mental shift of some kind?”

“More like a change of beliefs. It sounds like it didn’t happen overnight, but he started to believe himself above all others. Or at the very least, higher than the ponies of that nearby town. He mentions previous journals here too.”

Scootaloo points to a nearby bookcase.

“Like them?”

Arc turns to the shelf. Walking over to it, he reaches for the first volume. However as his fingers touch it, the tome crumbles to dust.

“What the…?”

Arc sighs. “Old.”

“How old would something have to be to DO that?!”

“Very. He might not have been lying when he said he was a thousand years old.”

Arc turns his attention back to the journal in his hand.

“Faced with the knowledge that his end was inevitable, he discovered a way to drain the lifeforce from other creatures.”

“Like he tried to do to me?”

“Right. It was an effort to extend his life. But he found that as more time went on he needed more and more lifeforce to maintain himself. Starting with plants, he worked up to small animals and whatnot. After a time… ponies.”

Arc closes the book and sighs.

“Fear of death.”

“Which is what made him trade the pony’s lifeforce for the moss.”

“Right. And what gave me the edge against him at the end.”

“How… how did it feel?”

“Intense, exhilarating… like I was strong enough to do anything!”

He looks down at his hands.

“And my injuries lessened.”

“Could you do it again?”

Arc shrugs. “Maybe. Back there I was just copying him though.”

“Give it a try.”

Arc looks around. “On what?”

“Me.”

Arc frowns. “What?”

“Just for an experiment. I know you won’t drain me too much.”

“You sure about this?”

Scootaloo nods. “Yes. That ability may be useful at some point.”

Taking a deep breath, Arc kneels down and puts his hand on Scootaloo’s forehead. Looking her in the eye for a moment, he closes his and concentrates. Slowly he feels the filly’s energies leaving her and entering him. Pulling back, Arc opens his eyes and looks at Scootaloo. She appears winded but otherwise unharmed.

“You okay?”

“I… I am. Just a bit tired now. What about you?”

“Like I just got my second wind.”

“So it really is the ability to take lifeforce.”

“I guess.”

“Where do you suppose he wrote his findings?”

“Probably not in the journal.”’

“Another book?”

“Most likely. Let’s look around.”

“Hopefully it’s in better shape than this one though.”

“Right.”

Looking around, Scootaloo lets out a yelp as she opens a chest.

“This is it!”

Arc hurries over to her. Scootaloo gives him a large tome. Opening it, he is greeted by the musty smell of old paper and dust.

“It reads like a proper textbook.”

“Is that good?”

Arc grins. “Yes. I can probably learn everything he did from reading this.”

“A nice thing to read on the road.”

“Or after we’ve made camp at night.”

“How about that mist ability he used?”

“What about it?”

“Did he write in there how to do it?”

“Let’s see…”

Flipping through the pages, Arc eventually stops and points.

“Here it is. He called it ‘Dark Mist’.”

Scootaloo rolls her eyes. “Not very original.”

“It says here that by clearing his mind and focusing his energies in a very specific way, he found he could transcend the flesh and become one with the darkness. The end result was the mist we saw at the beginning. Needless to say, this only works when in Crimson form.”

“Oh! I want to try that one!”

“I’d probably work in here. Give it a shot.”

Arc hands Scootaloo the book and points to the relevant passages. Concentrating, Scootaloo focuses and melts away into mist. It floats around the room as it expands and contracts. Arc chuckles.

“Looks like you’re enjoying that.”

Scootaloo giggles in an ethereal voice. “You should try it, Big Brother! This is amazing!”

“Sure, why not.”

Concentrating, Arc dematerializes… clothes and all. He floats around the room for a time before speaking.

“It’s certainly a very… interesting experience.”

“Yeah! It’s like flying, but without the need to flap my wings! Everything’s just so… effortless!”

“Well, we should probably get moving.”’

The pair rematerialize and leave the room. Arc carries the book under his arm as Scootaloo turns to him.

“Where to now?”

“Well… we still need some pollen from a Poison Joke plant and the juice of something called Dragon Fruit. All we have to do is figure out which one to go after now.”

“How about the Poison Joke in the Everfree Forest?”

“If you want to, sure. Even though we are technically closer to the Dragon Lands as it stands.”

“But we don’t know how to get there.”

Arc puts a finger on his chin thoughtfully. “True. Everfree Forest it is. After we report our findings to Captain Decimus in Canterlot, that is.”

Leaving the cave, they begin walking. Scootaloo looks to Arc as he reads the book.

“Anything in there about the ability to use magic?”

“Is that what I did?”

Scootaloo nods. “Yeah. But like I told you in that changeling’s cave, only unicorns can do that stuff.”

“You mean you can’t?”

“Nope. Not even in my Crimson form.”

“Not a word of it in here either.”

“Maybe ogres can use magic too.”

“You think that’s what I am?”

Scootaloo shrugs. “I dunno. But you two didn’t really look similar enough to be of the same species.”

Arc sighs as they continue onward. “Guess I’ll have to wait until I get my memories back to know for sure.”

He pulls out the map and looks it over.

“Looks like there’s a town to the south called Hollow Shades. I’m guessing we could make it there in a week. From there we could grab a train to Canterlot.”

“Did you say it was to the south?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“The wind is blowing.”

“What’s that have to do with…?”

“We could wait for dark and then go into our Crimson forms. It might be quicker to fly there with Dark Mist.”

Arc shrugs. “Worth a shot.”

Sitting down, the pair rest as they wait for night to come.

Comments

[Munro]

hm do we get a good glimglam now Oo
well cant get worse xD
that was awesome
and now i start to see what are you doing with this for ark

[Kamahido]

11064296
Oh, believe me, it can ALWAYS get worse!