• 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 8 - Twenty-Plus Years Ago...

As the sun nears its highest point in the sky, Maria groans slightly and begins to stir. The king and his daughter stand by her bed dutifully as Arc whispers in Auriel’s ear.

“I’ll just give you three some alone time.”

Stepping back, he closes the privacy curtain and leaves the Infirmary. A short time later Maria slowly opens her eyes.

“My… head…”

“It’s alright, mother. Remember, you’re safe here. And father has come too.”

The king smiles toothily. “Hello, dear. It’s... been a long time.”

Turning her head, Maria looks up at her husband. She smiles weakly.

“You’re a lot shorter than I remember.”

“It’s thanks to a certain spell, my dear.”

Auriel giggles. “Yes. One invented by a very smart little filly.”

Maria appears confused. “A filly?”

Malevolence chuckles. “So I am told, Maria.”

“There’s a lot of things you’ve missed, mother.”

“But Auriel and I are here for you now.”

“Yes, I’m sure you have many questions.”

The king nods. “And so do we. However you should start, Maria.”

“I just need to know one thing.”

She motions to Auriel before continuing.

“Is this… really our little girl?”

Malevolence smiles and nods. “Yes. All grown up and so much like you.”

Auriel smiles shyly. “I… I’ve tried my best to live up to your reputation, mother.”

Maria shakes her head. “No, Auriel. That is not the way.”

“Maria?”

“You should try to surpass me and my many failures.”

Auriel gasps. “But you’re so much more successful than I am!”

“That’s not true, little one. No one is immune to failure.”

“Not even you?!”

Maria sighs. “Especially me.”

“Come now, my dear. As long as I’ve known you, you have yet to fail in even a single task.”

“Oh, but that’s where you are wrong. For you see, I failed in so many ways.”

“Mother, what are you saying?”

“I failed to be here for your father all these years. I failed to be here for you as you grew up, Auriel. And worst of all... I failed myself in what I wanted to accomplish in life.”

“Do not beat yourself up over the past, my dear.”

Auriel grins. “And we’re together now!”

“You’ve done so much, Maria. What could possibly be left?”

Maria sighs. “To make up for my failings.”

She turns to Auriel before continuing.

“I want to be here for you now. Like I should have been all these years.”

“And you will be, mother. We can catch up while you recover and then I’d love to learn from you on how to be a better scientist.”

Malevolence puts a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “You’ll find her an eager student.”

“When you learn the facts I doubt you’ll want to though.”

“Mother?”

“Auriel… I need to tell you the truth about something.”

“What’s that?”

Maria bows her head. “What happened to me.”

The king steps forward soberly. “I’d like to know that as well.”

“Then you two had best sit down. It’s not the shortest nor the happiest tale.”

Auriel and her father pull up chairs and sit down as Maria begins.

“It all started after you were born, Auriel. I had returned to my lab for the first time. Your father offered to provide a nanny to care for you so I could work. However I… I told him that I wanted to do that myself as much as possible.”

Malevolence nods. “Something I thought you couldn’t do while continuing your work.”

“And you were right, dear.”

“Oh?”

Maria sighs. “A newborn child, much less a demon one, is a lot of work. Every time I started to make some sort of headway you would either cry or get into mischief, Auriel.”

Auriel looks away nervously. “I’m sorry about that.”

Maria smiles sadly.” Do not apologize for the antics of a baby, my dear. It is I whom should beg your forgiveness.”

“For leaving?”

“Among other things, yes.”

“I don’t hold that against you, mother. After all, it must have been very important for you to…”

Maria interrupts her. “It felt so at the time, yes. But I was chasing after a fool’s dream back then with my research.”

Malevolence frowns. “What were you studying?”

Maria points to Auriel. “Our daughter.”

“Me?!”

“Yes, you.”

Malevolence narrows his eyes. “To what end?!”

“You have to understand, I’m a scientist at heart. Always have been… always will be. When I come across something new I can’t help but study it and catalogue whatever I learn about it.”

Auriel appears suddenly upset. “So you… you viewed me as nothing but another experiment?!”

“In a way, yes. But please understand that I did so in order to better understand you, Auriel. After all, a half demon half human hybrid has never been born before. I needed to know what made you tick in order to understand how to raise you.”

Malevolence nods. “So you decided to make her the next subject of your attention?”

“Yes, dear. While it may sound cold and calculating, I honestly did want the best for Auriel. But I quickly found that I couldn’t give her that. Not as things stood, that is.”

“What else could I have needed?”

Maria sighs. “A real mother. One that could fully understand you on a personal level.”

Malevolence raises an eyebrow. “Personal?”

“I began to study ways to make Auriel happy.”

“How so, mother?”

“Genetic reorganization.”

Malevolence groans. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Auriel puts a hand to her chin thoughtfully. “I remember reading about that in a book you wrote, mother. You theorized that, with the proper remapping, that a species could be transformed into something totally different.”

“Very good, Auriel. However the texts you read were all about theory and conjecture. I began working on very real methodology.”

Malevolence clenches a fist. “You were trying to turn Auriel into a full-blooded demon?!”

Auriel gasps. “But I’m very happy as I am!”

Maria shakes her head. “No. In truth, I was trying to turn myself into a demon.”

Malevolence takes a step back. “Why though?!”

“So that Auriel would have a mother she could be proud of.”

She looks to the king and smiles before continuing.

“And so that you could have a queen to be proud of.”

Malevolence takes her hand. “But I AM proud of you, my dear!”

Maria looks away. “I knew what was said about me behind my back. My freakish nature was an insult to your station and those whom you served. So I sought to change myself for you two.”

Auriel grimaces. “By manipulating your genes?!”

“Yes, Auriel. However as you know it didn’t work.”

Malevolence sighs. “What exactly DID happen?”

“I created a device that could remap every cell in my body all at once. It would have given me the best chance at success.”

Auriel shudders. “But something went wrong?”

Maria nods. “Yes, it did. For safety’s sake I sent Auriel away with a servant to be put to bed early one night.”

She smiles sheepishly at the king before continuing.

“It coincided with a long day of meetings for you, my dear.”

Malevolence smirks. “So you knew I would go straight to bed when it was over.”

“Right. That assured that I would be left in complete and total peace. But also that I wouldn’t be endangering others with my reckless task.”

Auriel looks her mother in the eye. “And it didn’t work?”

Maria shakes her head. “No it did not. When I attempted my first live experiment with the device there was some kind of a power surge. It altered the controls and scrambled the parameters I had carefully set.”

Malevolence gasps. “Were you alright?!”

“Yes and no. Yes, as I was alive. But no inasmuch as I had been... changed.”

Auriel forces a smile. “Into Brightwing?”

“A strange looking lizard creature, yes.”

Malevolence raises an eyebrow. “But why not call for help?”

“I didn’t want anyone to see me like that, lest I brought even more shame and dishonor to your name. So I attempted to reset the machine and try again.”

Auriel gasps. “Without looking into potential damage done by the surge?!”

Maria nods sadly. “I didn’t have a chance to do so, no. My mind was quickly ebbing away as I worked and I knew it was only a matter of time before I would lose what little mental clarity that remained.”

Malevolence sighs. “So you rushed things.”

“What choice did I have? It was all or nothing at that point. But everything was in vain, as I couldn’t manipulate my new claws and wings effectively. In the end my thoughts receded into the small creature’s subconscious and more or less went to sleep.”

“So you don’t remember anything Brightwing did, mother?”

“Very little. Even the passage of time was something I could not measure effectively. Did they… did I do something wrong?”

Malevolence shrugs. “Nothing major, no.”

“At least nothing the rulers of Equestria will hold you accountable for.”

Maria looks to her husband. “Are you certain? After all, you were the one whom told me that they were vile and untrustworthy creatures, my dear.”

“I… spoke from emotion. Things have changed between them and our kingdom in the meantime, my dear.”

“That is good. I remember you speaking about them with such negative passion.”

Auriel grins. “They were able to come together recently, as Equestria has a new princess.”

Malevolence puts a hand on Auriel’s shoulder. “Her and Auriel are good friends.”

Maria smiles. “It’s good that you two were able to look past outward appearances and come together, Auriel.”

“We’ve even worked on a few projects together in the past. Before she became a princess, that is.”

Maria pats her daughter’s hand. “And I would enjoy hearing about them.”

Malevolence nods. “Perhaps you should finish your own story first though.”

“Very well.”

She turns back to Auriel before continuing.

“After my own consciousness became part of the creature’s subconscious, I found that I could only influence them in very small ways. Trying to directly control them led nowhere as did communication.”

“So what did you do, mother?”

“Waited in half-sleeping limbo mostly. Eventually I was able to implant a single desire within them though.”

Malevolence chuckles. “The idea to return to normal?”

Maria shakes her head. “I put the idea thought their head that they should show those around them just how smart they could be.”

Auriel raises an eyebrow. “How smart they could be? But Brightwing was more or less a baby mentally.”

Maria sighs. “Even the youngest of creatures are capable of learning, Auriel. They slowly researched simple topics on their own. Reading, writing, and even a strange form of magic.”

Malevolence smirks. “From there they went on to more complicated studies?”

“I believe so, yes. And eventually I was able to help steer those studies into things that would be of benefit to me.”

Auriel giggles. “Like Brightwing’s office hobbies?”

“Chemistry combined with magic.”

Malevolence groans. “That’s beyond me.”

“Twilight and I did something like that in her basement lab, so I do understand the concept.”

Maria smiles. “Eventually, through small mental prods, I was able to get that little creature to learn enough to do things themselves.”

Malevolence appears pleased. “Manipulation, my dear.”

“I prefer the term ‘indirect posturing’.”

“And you were able to convince Brightwing to do everything she did, mother?”

“Somehow, yes. But the last few tasks did require more direct communication and reasoning. And me lying here talking to you two is the result of all my planning.”

Malevolence appear relieved. “Well, at least that’s over.”

“Yes. Now we can all be together again as a real family.”

Maria shakes her head. “I’m sorry, but this is far from over, Auriel.”

“Mother?”

“What I did to try to become a demon was but one mistake to rectify. A drop in the proverbial bucket if you will.”

Auriel nods soberly. “Then you and I will work to make things right together!”

Malevolence grins. “Yes. And I will provide whatever resources you require for such an endeavor, my dear.”

Maria sighs. “Were it that simple.”

Auriel gasps. “Then explain it to us!”

“Alright then. Brightwing was able to travel from this land to my homeland of Earth at will when their magic became strong enough.”

“That’s really quite the feat too!”

Malevolence nods. “Agreed. To the best of my knowledge there are no demons whom have magic anywhere near that powerful.”

Maria smiles. “They needed such a power to achieve my goals. The first of which was to return to my normal form.”

Auriel grimaces. “And now?”

“To right the next wrong on my list. Making amends for all I did in the employ of a very… shadowy organization.”

Auriel looks her mother in the eye. “You mean The Organization?”

“How do you know that, Auriel?!”

“Because I’ve been to Damocles Base before.”

Malevolence nods proudly. “It is true, Maria. She helped infiltrate it with Equestria’s Hero of Light some time ago.”

“For what purpose?!”

“To do my part to help free a captured princess. We were successful in our intel gathering, of course.”

Malevolence chuckles. “Yes, if even half of what I’ve heard about that mission is true then Arc really earned his…!”

Maria cuts him off. “ARC?! How do you know that name?!”

Auriel appears confused. “He’s the one whom infiltrated Damocles Base to save the princess.”

Malevolence nods. “Quite the tale to be sure.”

“Where is he now?!”

Auriel looks behind her at the Infirmary entrance. “I’m not sure. He left when you were stirring so we could have some time to talk.”

“Please go find him! I need to…!”

Gasping, Maria suddenly clutches her forehead as the machines all around her suddenly start beeping. Doctor Whooves and Redheart rush toward them as King Malevolence helps Maria lie down. She loses consciousness as the pair arrive and start looking her over. Doctor Whooves turns to Auriel.

“What happened?!”

“We were talking about something that for some reason excited her!”

Malevolence groans. “Did she overdo it?!”

Redheart looks over the monitors. “It looks like there was a massive spike in her heart rate, doctor.”

Doctor Whooves nods as he goes over another screen. “And her respiration suddenly went through the roof as well.”

Malevolence clenches a fist. “What does that mean, doctor?!”

“That she pushed herself too far.”

Redheart nods as she pulls out a needle. “Right. She’s supposed to be resting.”

Auriel sighs. “We thought talking would be fine though.”

Doctor Whooves sighs as he reaches for an IV bottle. “Normally it is. But after what happened to her back on Earth…”

Redheart interrupts. “The physiological changes may have other negative effects on her.”

Malevolence grits his teeth. “What can be done though?!”

The doctor sighs as he hooks up the IV bottle to the stand. “Don’t excite her in the future for starters.”

Redheart hands him the needle. “And try to keep your conversations to happy subjects.”

Auriel sighs. “That may not be possible.”

Malevolence nods. “Agreed. Maria apparently knows something that she’s very interested in sharing with Arc.”

Whooves gestures to the comatose patient. “Well, not right now she isn’t.”

Auriel appears confused. “Doctor?”

“This IV bottle contains medication the will help normalize her vitals. However it’ll also keep her from waking up for several hours.”

Redheart nods. “At least.”

Malevolence frowns. “But what about…?!”

Whooves holds up a hoof. “Please sir. The patient needs her rest.”

Auriel groans. “That and the medicine is already inside her, father.”

“Well… I still don’t like this whole thing!”

“Neither do I, father. But we need to do what’s best for mother.”

Auriel turns to the doctor.

“Tell me, would it be possible for her to be transferred to my room?”

Doctor Whooves shakes his head. “She really should be monitored and kept within the Infirmary.”

Redheart raises an eyebrow. “Why do you want her moved, miss?”

“I just believe that my mother would be more comfortable waking up later in a real bed versus a hospital cot.”

The doctor looks over the screens as he writes on a clipboard. “At this time, no. We’ll monitor her condition and will re-evaluate in a few hours.”

Malevolence appears hopeful. “Then could she potentially be relocated?”

Redheart shrugs. “Possibly, yes. But she will only recover with proper rest.”

Auriel sits down next to the bed. “Then we’ll sit here quietly and watch over her.”

Malevolence nods as he joins his daughter. “That we will, Auriel. That we will.”

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