• Published 27th Apr 2019
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The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds - Kamahido



Twilight accidently brings a human from Earth to Equestria. Will he be able to coexist with the equine inhabitants of this new land?

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Chapter 4 - Dinner Companions

That evening Arc, along with Rainbow Dash and her parents, enter a fancy restaurant in the heart of Cloudsdale. All of them are wearing their finest clothes and have their manes done. Following a stuffy looking waiter to a large table they sit down and are handed menus. Arc turns to Bo.

“Quite the place they have here.”

Bo nods. “Only the best for our guests.”

Windy sighs. “I’m only sorry the Scarlet Filly didn’t want to come.”

Arc chuckles. “She’s not much for this sort of thing.”

Rainbow Dash tugs at the neck of her dress. “Neither am I. Did I really have to wear this thing?”

Bo looks to his daughter. “It’s part of the dress code here, dear.”

Windy giggles. “That and you do look lovely.”

Bo turns to Arc. “Don’t you think so, sir?”

“Oh, yes. You do look very nice, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash smiles nervously. “Oh! Um… thank you.”

A waiter approaches with crystal glasses of water. Setting them before everyone he looks around the table.

“Good evening. Can I start everypony off with some appetizers?”

Bo nods. “We’d like some hors d' oeuvres along with a bottle of your finest wine, please.”

“Yes sir. Right away.”

He hurries away as Rainbow Dash turns to her father.

“So what’s the occasion, dad?”

Bo chuckles. “We’re just doing our best to help the Hero of Light be seen.”

Windy grins. “That and it’s not every day you come home for a visit.”

Rainbow Dash sighs. “I suppose it has been awhile.”

Bo smiles. “Right. Certainly cause for celebration.”

“I’d have been happy with burgers and hay fries though.”

The waiter returns and sets a large platter in the center of the table. Finishing, another waiter follows him and begins filling glasses. Arc holds up a hand as they reach him.

“None for me, thank you.”

Bo appears confused. “Are you not happy with the wine, sir?”

Windy speaks up. “We can order you something different if you’d like.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I just don’t consume alcohol.”

Bo puts a hoof to his chin. “Oh yes. I do remember you saying that the other day.”

Rainbow Dash grins. “I’ll take his then!”

“Alright then, dear. Just be careful. We remember what happened the last time you had too much cider.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Oh? What happened?”

Windy groans. “She fell down the stairs, broke through the front door, and rolled halfway into the street.”

“That must’ve been quite the tumble.”

Rainbow Dash sighs. “I think I was trying to take flight and just kinda… miscalculated.”

Bo puts a hoof on his daughter’s shoulder. “She wasn’t hurt, or anything. But it was a bit of a wakeup call for Rainbow Dash.”

“I’m a lot more careful these days.”

Arc appears relieved. “That’s good.”

A short time later the waiter returns.

“Are you ready for the main course?”

Bo nods. “I do believe so, yes. I’ll have the Spinach Quiche.”

Windy points a hoof at her menu. “And I’ll take the Sweet Potato Canapes.”

Rainbow Dash grins. “Give me an Apple Pecan Salad.”

Arc nods. “Make that two.”

As the waiter turns to leave, Bo touches his shoulder and whispers something into the stallion’s ear. Nodding, the server continues on his way as Windy Whistles turns to Arc.

“So… what’s it like being the Hero of Light.”

Bo chuckles. “I would assume it’s very exciting.”

Rainbow Dash grins. “From what I’ve heard, it is!”

“Well, it certainly isn’t boring.”

Windy giggles. “Any interesting stories?”

“Sadly much of what I do should probably be kept secret. Sorry.”

Bo nods soberly. “We understand, sir. But it must be a bit more interesting than running a factory.”

“While I can’t disagree with that, I’d much rather have your job than my own.”

“Oh?”

“It’s very… mentally taxing as well as physically dangerous. Frankly I’m surprised that I’m still alive at this point.”

Rainbow Dash shudders. “Especially after what Celestia did to you!”

“That too.”

Bo clears his throat in an effort to keep the conversation moving. “Well, there have to be some perks to the job.”

Rainbow Dash taps the table with a hoof. “Unlimited power, prestige, extremely good pay…”

Arc interrupts her. “The best part I suppose is being able to make a difference.”

Windy nods. “As the Lord Regent?”

“That too. But with my position I’m able to investigate and act on information far faster than anyone else in the land could. Princesses included.”

Sometime later several waiters set the food before them. As one of them places a plate in front of an empty chair next to Rainbow Dash she turns to her father.

“You expecting somepony else, dad?”

“Yes, indeed.”

Windy grins. “A very special guest actually.”

“Anypony I know?”

Bo nods. “That you do.”

Raising a hoof, he beckons to someone across the room. The sound of hooves rings out as a stallion approaches and puts a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder.

“It’s been a long time, Rainbow.”

Her jaw dropping, Rainbow Dash’s neck turns to look at the newcomer.

“Z-Z-Zephyr Breeze?!”

“Tis I, my dear.”

“What are you…?!”

“Your father didn’t tell you yet?”

Bo shakes his head. “No. I was just waiting for the right moment.”

Zephyr smiles. “Of course.”

He turns back to Rainbow Dash before continuing.

“I’ve finally finished with my college courses and wanted to come right back to Cloudsdale to see you.”

Rainbow Dash tilts her head to one side, confused. “See… me?”

“Of course. You haven’t forgotten me, now have you?”

“Of course not!”

“Then you remember…”

Bo motions to the empty chair. “Now, now. Sit down and have a nice meal with us, Zephyr. We can catch up.”

Windy beams. “Yes. There’ll be time for talk of that kind later.”

Zephyr nods as he sits down. “Of course. We shouldn’t rush these things after all.”

Bo motions to Arc. “But where are my manners. Zephyr, this is Hero of Light Arc. Sir, this is Zephyr Breeze. Cloudsdale local and jack of all trades.”

Zephyr extends a hoof to Arc. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

Arc nods and shakes his hoof cordially.

“Likewise.”

They sit down and begin to eat. Windy looks to Zephyr.

“So, how was college?”

Zephyr yawns. “A trifle dull actually. But when you’re as learned as I am, it’s something one has to simply accept.”

Rainbow Dash turns to him. “And you’re here to stay?”

“That I am, Rainbow.”

Bo chuckles. “Looking for a job?”

“Not really. After all, I’ve already had many, MANY offers in just this town alone.”

Windy appears impressed. “In what areas?”

“Corporate management mostly. A few advisory roles here and there, of course.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “Is there a lot of that here in Cloudsdale?”

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. “Not really. Outside the Rainbow Factory, that is.”

Zephyr chuckles. “More so than you know. After all, business is what drives the economy forward.”

Bo grins. “Well put.”

Windy giggles. “It is good to see you back in town again. I still remember all the trouble you and our daughter used to get into.”

Arc chuckles. “Childhood friends?”

Zephyr nods. “We were, yes. However the two of us have planned much… MUCH more.”

Windy giggles. “Their favorite game back then was ‘wedding’.”

Bo chuckles. “I can’t remember how many times I had to ‘give away’ Rainbow Dash.”

Zephyr sighs. “My apologies for that, sir. I know now just how busy a stallion you were.”

“Nonsense. You’re a foal only once, after all. And it was nice seeing Rainbow Dash so happy back then.”

Windy pats her daughter’s back. “Yes, she was a very… competitive filly.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “A sports star?”

Rainbow Dash laughs nervously. “Something like that.”

Zephyr chuckles. “Don’t sell yourself short, Dash! You were number one in pretty much everything!”

Windy nods matter of factly. “That she was!”

Bo grins. “And we were there to cheer her on all the way!”

Rainbow Dash facehoofs. “Literally.”

Zephyr laughs. “I do remember that. But even after all this time I still wonder one thing. Where in Celestia’s name did you get all those Rainbow Dash hats, helmets, and banners?”

Windy smiles. “Every one of them was made specifically for a type of event by yours truly.”

Bo grins. “She got pretty good at it.”

Rainbow Dash cuts in to change the subject. “So… how long do you think you’ll stay in Cloudsdale, Zephyr?”

“I was actually here to see about answering a number of job offers. It would be so nice if I were able to live near my parents again.”

Arc turns to Zephyr soberly. “That makes sense. Any news on their condition?”

Zephyr appears suddenly confused. “I don’t believe I understand what you mean.”

Windy gasps. “Didn’t you hear?!”

“No. Did something happen?”

Bo sighs. “Your parents went missing a couple weeks ago.”

“WHAT?! We have to…!”

Windy interrupts him as she holds up a hoof. “Not to worry about that. Hero of Light Arc has already located them along with the other missing citizens.”

“Where are they?!”

Bo points a hoof toward the window. “In the hospital at the moment.”

Zephyr stands up quickly. “I need to go see them at once!”

Windy nods. “Yes, of course. I’ll take you straight to them.”

Bo bows his head. “Sorry for not saying anything earlier on the phone. I just figured you had already been notified.”

Zephyr turns to his childhood friend. “Forgive me for running off like this, Rainbow. But I’m needed by my parent’s side.”

Rainbow Dash groans. “I’ll try to contain myself.”

Zephyr and Windy Whistles hurry out the door together as Arc turns to Rainbow Dash.

“It’s… nice that you have such a friendly childhood friend.”

“Don’t remind me.”

Bo turns to his daughter. “So… what did you think, dear?”

“About what?”

“Zephyr!”

“Um… he’s a bit… different than I remember him.”

“You mean he grew up?”

“Not exactly.”

Bo turns to Arc as he stands up. “Sorry for the abrupt ending to our evening, sir.”

“It’s alright.”

“In any case, I should probably be getting home. Have to be at the Rainbow Factory early tomorrow.”

“That’s okay, dad. I’m getting kinda tired too.”

Bo waves over the waiter and asks for the check. A few minutes later they walk out the doors and step out onto the cloud sidewalk (no, I don’t get it either). Her father yawns as Rainbow Dash takes his hoof.

“Come on, dad. Let’s get you home.”

Arc speaks up. “I think I can help with that.”

Holding out a gauntlet, he opens a portal. Bo steps back instinctively.

“What the…?”

“It’s fine, dad. Arc uses these all the time.”

Bo sighs. “I’m too tired to put up a fuss.”

Leading her father through, Arc follows the pair. They step out into Arc’s room in the large cloud house.

“Glad I put a sigil here.”

Rainbow Dash grins. “Me too.”

“Well, thank you for that, sir. I’m going to hit the hay.”

“Me too. Goodnight.”

Arc nods. “Night.”

As they leave the room, Scootaloo steps out of the bathroom with a towel over her mane.

“Big Brother? You’re back sooner than I thought.”

“Yeah, well… something came up.”

“What was it?”

“An old friend of Rainbow Dash’s.”

“Out of the blue?”

Arc shakes his head. “No, they ordered food for him ahead of time. Rainbow Dash looked really surprised though. I’m pretty sure she didn’t expect him to be there.”

“That’s weird.”

“He left as soon as someone told him about his parent’s being in the hospital. Not that it’s out of the ordinary though. I’d have been in a hurry too.”

“And Rainbow Dash’s parents?”

“Her mother took Zephyr Breeze, that was the friend’s name, to the hospital to see his parents. Rainbow Dash’s father looked really tired, so I brought us home via portal. He’s probably in bed by now along with Rainbow Dash.”

“We should probably get to bed too then.”

“I guess. But I think I’d like to enjoy a bit of time on the balcony.”

“It was pretty warm today, I guess.”

“Must be weather magic, or something.”

Scootaloo yawns. “Well, you can figure that one out. I’m heading to bed.”

“Goodnight.”

The filly crawls into her bed as Arc opens the door to the terrace. Closing it gently behind him, he walks over to a cloud bench and sits down. Sighing contentedly, he closes his eyes as a gentle breeze washes over him. Sometime later the sound of flapping wings approaching reaches his ears. Opening his eyes, Arc turns to see Rainbow Dash landing just in front of the terrace door. As her hoof reaches out to it he calls to her.

“Rainbow Dash?”

She gasps slightly and draws back. Turning, she spots him on the bench and smiles nervously.

“Um… hey.”

“Hi. Couldn’t sleep?”

Rainbow Dash appears confused. “Sleep?”

“That what you told your dad you were going to do when you two left my room a little while ago.”

Rainbow Dash sighs. “I… may have told a little white lie.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“It’s… kinda complicated.”

“Want to sit down?”

Rainbow Dash nods. “Thanks. That might help.”

Moving over, Arc allows the mare to take a seat next to him. She sighs and looks away.

“I… wasn’t planning to go to bed at all.”

“Oh?”

“In truth, I was going to… fly away.”

“Um… okay. Why though?”

“Because I… don’t want to be here anymore.”

“I don’t understand.”

Rainbow Dash groans. “My parents and I get along fine, as you’ve seen. But they’re kinda… overbearing sometimes. Like when I was a filly, they would come to all my games, matches, meets, whatever, and… cheer me on.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It was way beyond what anypony would consider normal encouragement. They would shout at the top of their lungs while wearing hats of my face and waving banners of my cutie mark.”

“That does sound a bit… much. Did they do this all the time?”

“Even at practice.”

“And no one told them to stop?”

Rainbow Dash shakes her head. My dad’s the top pony over at the Rainbow Factory. Pretty much everypony is connected to it in some way.

“So no one tells him anything, huh?”

“Nah.”

“I wouldn’t consider embarrassing parents as grounds to leave in the middle of the night though.”

“It isn’t them. Truth be told… it’s Zephyr.”

“Your old friend?”

Rainbow Dash sighs and nods. “Yeah.”

“Something you’re not telling me about him?”

“Well, you heard about that game he and I played as foals.”

“But you were both little. Everyone does kinda silly things when they’re a kid.”

“We did it a LOT though.”

“And that bothers you now?”

“Yeah. Um… my parents always told me that they wanted his family and ours to be joined one day.”

“As in a real marriage?”

“Right. We were okay with that too, since we were such good friends.”

“Were?”

“Truth be told, we kinda drifted apart when we got older.”

“Before you moved to Ponyville?”

Rainbow Dash sighs. “He’s the reason I moved.”

“Wait, what?”

“Zephyr was always coming by with flowers and candy. Anything to try and ask me out. I always had an excuse handy to keep from going with him though.”

“I don’t understand. Why not just tell him the truth?”

“Believe me, I tried. But he just always thought I was joking!”

“So he still thinks you’re interested in him?”

Rainbow Dash nods sadly. “Right. Sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“You and I are supposed to be an item, after all.”

“I’m not jealous if that’s what you mean.”

Rainbow Dash breathes a sigh of relief. “Really? Good!”

“But I am a bit miffed that you didn’t mention him until now.”

“I kinda thought that chapter in my life was over. That he’d find somepony else and would settle down.”

“It sounds like he’s doing well though.”

“And I’m happy about that. But his life’s about to take off with an exciting new career. And I’m happy right where I am.”

“Sounds like you two need to have a talk.”

“He’ll never believe it.”

“Well, you have to try. And if that doesn’t work you could always bring this up to your parents.”

Rainbow Dash gasps. “No, I can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because they have their hearts set and Zephyr and I getting together!”

“Which isn’t what you want though.”

“Right!”

“So you can’t see yourself getting married to Zephyr. But at the same time don’t want to let your parents down.”

“Or him. What do I do?!”

“You need to be honest about it. The two of you might have had feelings for each other years ago, but that time has passed.”

“But we promised each other that we’d get married!”

“Huh?”

Rainbow Dash sighs. “Before he left to go to college Zephyr told me that he’d come back successful and be ready to take me as his wife. I didn’t think much of it at the time, since he’s always been a blowhard.”

“But…?”

“But he’s kept a torch burning for me all this time! How do I tell him I was just kinda accidentally leading him on?!”

“You could start by being honest about your feelings. That and tell everyone that we’re kinda dating.”

“Trust me, that isn’t what he needs to hear right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because he respects you somewhat.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “What’s that have to do with…?”

“Diplomacy!”

“Diplomacy?”

“If he got mad at you, word would get around quickly! It might really hurt our chances of fully turning Cloudsdale to Twilight’s side!”

“So what are you going to do?”

Rainbow Dash looks away. “I… I don’t know.”

“Really?”

“If I have to… I’ll do what’s best for Equestria.”

“And what’s that?”

Rainbow Dash bows her head. “In the name of keeping the peace, I’d be willing to… marry Zephyr.”

“Would he make you happy?”

Rainbow Dash shrugs. “I guess. I mean, we were friends in the past. No reason we couldn’t be again. But what about you?”

“Remember, I told you and the others not to wait for me if someone else came around that you liked.”

Rainbow Dash groans. “Great. I was kinda hoping you’d be mad.”

“Well, I’m not exactly happy about it.”

“At least then this would be easier for me.”

“You mean…?”

“I could probably convince my parents and Zephyr that me marrying you would help cement relations between Cloudsdale and Canterlot, or something.”

“But that wouldn’t be the truth.”

“Yeah, I know. But no matter what I do, there’s still that chance it could backfire terribly.”

Arc puts a hand on her shoulder. “Tell you what. I’ll support you in whichever path you decide to take.”

Rainbow Dash smiles sheepishly. “Really?”

“Really.”

“So if I get with Zephyr… you won’t get mad?”

“No. I’ll wish you both the best and hope for a better future. But only if that’s REALLY what you want for yourself.”

“Thanks. Um… I think I have some more thinking to do though.”

“Maybe you should really get to bed now.”

“I think I will.”

Standing up, she turns to him and puts her front hooves around his neck. Hugging Arc, Rainbow Dash whispers in his ear.

“Thanks for being so understanding, Arc. And I’m really sorry for not saying something sooner.”

Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she turns and takes flight. Arc sighs and leans back on the bench as he muses to himself.

“My potential herd might just have one less member before it even gets started. While I want what’s best for you, Rainbow Dash, I’m not certain even you know exactly what it is that you want.”

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