//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Toy Story // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// A few weeks later Arc, Dinky, and Scootaloo walk down the aisles of the toy store. Scootaloo turns to him. “Remind me what it is we’re doing here again, Big Brother?” “Buying toys for the orphans.” “I get that. But don’t they already have toys?” Arc nods. “Yes. But this is for Christmas.” Dinky grins. “It’s a time for family and celebrating!” “And giving toys?” “Presents, yes.” “But for what reason are we…?” Arc interrupts her. “You’ll understand when you see the children at the orphanage.” Dinky gasps. “Dad, look!” Grabbing her father’s hand, Dinky points to a nearby display. Arc chuckles. “I can’t believe it. They actually made those things.” Before them stands a shelf laden with action figures. Arc picks one up that looks rather familiar as Scootaloo raises an eyebrow. “Is that supposed to be you?!” “Yup!” Dinky giggles. “Here’s Dragon too!” Arc grins. “And here’s the ‘Faithful Steed’. Guess they couldn’t come up with anything more original.” Scootaloo frowns. “What… are these things?!” “Action figures. Kids play with them.” “How?” “Well… they imagine a storyline of some kind and then use the action figures to help act it out.” “Can you show us, dad?” “Okay. But I’ll need your help, Dinky.” “Me?” Arc nods. “Yes. I’ll say a line as the Hero and you say one that Dragon might use.” Scootaloo looks at the action figures. “Can I help too?” Dinky giggles. “Do you want to be the Faithful Steed?” Scootaloo shakes her head as she picks up another toy from the racks. “How about the villain?” She holds up a Bloodletter action figure and grins. Arc chuckles. “Sure. Now then, I’ll go first and stand here as Dragon hurries in.” Taking a Hero of Light action figure along with a Dragon, he stands them up across from each other on the floor before speaking. “Dragon! The Riders are trying to take over City Hall! We have to stop them!” Dinky grins. “Not to worry! I’ve got your back, Hero!” Scootaloo speaks in a low growl. “I shall ferry you two there!” Arc pumps a fist. “Good! Wonder Warriors, away!” Dinky appears confused. “Wonder Warriors?” Arc nods sheepishly. “That’s just the first thing that popped into my head. Scootaloo shrugs. “Well… let’s go with that.” Arc puts the Hero and Dragon action figures on Sereb’s back as Scootaloo trots away as he continues. “Stop here, Faithful Steed! Dragon and I will take on these brigands!” Dinky pulls the Dragon action figure off Sereb’s back in a mock flip. “That we will!” Scootaloo lightly growls. “I will fight by your sides!” “Very well, Faithful Steed! Let us show these brutes the meaning of pain!” Arc grabs a handful of nearby various actions figures to act as enemy combatants. Setting them up quickly, he along with Dinky and Scootaloo make various fighting sounds as they knock down their opponents. Dinky throws up her hands happily. “We are victorious!” Scootaloo moves Sereb’s paw into a pointing position. “Yes! But the leader comes!” Arc tosses Scootaloo the Bloodletter action figure. She walks it toward them menacingly as Dinky holds up her Dragon action figure. “Give it up, Bloodletter!” “You and your friends were able to beat my minions, Hero! But you won’t take me down so easily!” Arc grins. “We’ll see about that! Crimson Power!” Dinky appears confused. “Crimson what-now?” Arc shrugs. “Have to call it something, right?” Scootaloo sighs. “I guess so. But how about Crimson Transformation?” “We can do that. Crimson Transformation!” Lunging at the wolfman before him, Arc tackles the action figure with his own. Bloodletter flies to the other side of the isle as Dinky cheers. “Victory is ours, Hero!” Scootaloo gasps. “Wait! He’s coming back!” Grabbing the Faithful Steed figure, she gallops across the aisle to pounce on the Bloodletter figure. Making growling and slashing sounds, she turns to the others happily. “Now we are victorious!” Arc laughs. “Hooray for us!” Dinky cheers. “It’s all thanks to you, Hero!” “I couldn’t have done it without you, or my Faithful Steed though, Dragon! But what should we do now?!” “Let’s make sure the mayor is okay!” Scootaloo giggles. “How about lunch first?” Dinky shakes her head. “I don’t think the Hero would stop to eat before…” “No, no. I mean for us. I’m starving!” Arc chuckles. “Sure. Just as soon as we grab a bunch of these action figures.” “For the orphans, Big Brother?” Arc grins. “Us too though.” Filling the cart with toys, the trio makes their way to the checkout lanes. Paying for their goods they return to the Jeep and load up. Getting into their seats Dinky turns and looks to her father happily. “Thanks for the toys, dad!” Scootaloo smiles. “Yeah! Playing was really fun!” “You two are welcome. Just think of them as early Christmas gifts.” “What else are we planning to do, dad?” “Well… Christmas is just ten days away now. Remember, we’re planning to have both Shelly and Lily over that week.” Scootaloo gasps. “The whole week?” “Something wrong with that?” “N-no. I just… um… I’m a little nervous about the new additions to the household.” Dinky frowns. “Hammer?” “It’s all happening so fast!” Arc chuckles. “They’re not going to be staying with us forever, mind you. Just for the week.” “You’re looking forward to that, aren’t you dad?” “Yeah. It’ll be just like when the three of us lived together when we aged out of the orphanage.” Scootaloo sighs as she looks out the window. “Sure…” “Where should we go for lunch, dad?” “We could get a pizza.” “That sounds good to me!” Arc turns around. “What do you think, Scootaloo?” “Huh?” “My dad’s asking what you want for lunch.” “Anything really.” “Roberto’s?” Scootaloo sighs. “That’s fine.” Pulling onto the highway Arc makes the drive to his favorite pizzeria. Parking, he shuts off the engine and unbuckles. “Here we are.” “YAY!” Arc and Dinky get out and close their doors. Turning, Arc spots Scootaloo still in her seat looking out the window. He looks to Dinky. “Would you mind if we made it an order to go?” “Sure, dad.” “I’ll go inside and make the order. Can you please stay with Scootaloo?” “Okay.” Arc heads inside as Dinky gets back in the Jeep. She turns around and kneels on the seat to face Scootaloo. “We’re getting an order to go.” Scootaloo does not respond, but continues to look out the window. Dinky hops into the back seat and puts a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. You okay?” Brushing the little girl’s hand away, Scootaloo frowns. "I… don’t want to talk.” “My dad says that when you don’t want to talk is usually when you need to.” Scootaloo frowns. “That doesn’t make any sense!” “I thought so too. But then I realized that if I didn’t talk to someone nothing about my situation would change.” “If I, DID talk about it, nothing would change.” “How do you know if you don’t…?” Scootaloo groans. “Look, Dinky… I get that you’re just trying to help, but you don’t understand me or my situation. So please just… just let it go.” Dinky sighs. “Fine. But if you need to talk, me and my dad are here for you.” Arc returns a few minutes later. Sliding into his spot in the driver’s seat he closes the door behind him. “It’ll be ready in about twenty minutes.” “Okay, dad. Should we just wait here then?” “Yeah. But then again, maybe we shouldn’t.” “What do you mean?” “I’ll show you.” Starting the engine Arc drives the vehicle behind the building. Shutting it off, he turns to the pair. “Everyone out.” Stepping out of the vehicle, Arc looks around a few moments before casting the Matter Compacting Spell. As the Jeep shrinks Arc kneels down and picks it up. Storing it in his ring he calls forth his gauntlet, makes a sigil, and opens a portal. “Let’s go.” Shrugging, Dinky and Scootaloo do as they are told. Arc follows them through as the portal collapses. Reappearing on the sigil back in his basement Dinky looks to her father, clearly confused. “We’re home, dad?” Arc nods. “Yes. I’ll pop back there to get the food in a bit. Could you head upstairs and tell your mother and Hammer that we’re having pizza for lunch?” “Okay dad.” She heads upstairs as Hammer passes her with the clothes hamper. “We’re having pizza for lunch, Miss Hammer!” “Cool!” She reaches the bottom of the stairs and walks over to the washer. Looking over at Arc she smiles sheepishly. “Derpy says she’s going to teach me how to sort and do laundry.” “Good. Where is she now?” “Taking a leak in the upstairs bathroom. She said she’d be right down though.” “That’s fine. I’ll leave you to it then. This way, Scootaloo.” “Huh?” “Come with me.” Nodding, the little girl follows Arc upstairs. Leading her into his room, he closes the door behind them. “Have a seat.” Scootaloo nods and sits down in a chair as Arc plops down on the end of the bed. “So what’s up?” “Big Brother?” “You were really out of it back in the Jeep earlier.” “I… I just… don’t really want to talk about it. “ “That much I do know.” Scootaloo looks suddenly nervous. “You know what I did?” Arc nods soberly. “To Dinky, yes.” Scootaloo lowers her gaze “Are you… mad?” “Not really, no. But I did see what you did in the Jeep earlier. Now then, I want you to understand that under normal circumstances I don’t generally look through your eyes without saying something.” “You don’t?” Arc shakes his head. “I see it as being really invasive. After all as a filly you deserve a certain amount of privacy. More now that you’re a human girl.” “That doesn’t make any sense to me though.” “Then why don’t we stick to what’s bothering you?” Scootaloo sighs. “It’s been bothering me for some time now.” “I know.” “You do?” "Yes.” “So you can see what I’m thinking?! “Not exactly. But anyone can see that you haven’t been yourself lately.” “Do I have to tell you, Big Brother?” Arc sighs. “I suppose I could order you to do so. But I don’t really want to do that.” “Can we just leave it for the time being then?” “If that’s what you want, yes. Just understand that all I want is what’s best for you. And I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s going on.” Scootaloo nods. “I just… need to sort a few things out in my head first.” “Well, if you ever want to talk about it I’ll be here to listen.” “Thanks, Big Brother. And I will talk to you about it sometime soon.” “Good. Now then, I’m going to put my Jeep in the garage. Think you could give me a hand?” Scootaloo appears confused. “With what?” “You’ll see.” Heading downstairs they make their way outside to the garage. Arc removes the Jeep from his ring and sets it gently on the concrete. Stepping back he holds up a hand and casts the Matter Compacting counter spell to return it to normal. Opening the back hatch Arc turns to Scootaloo. “Bring these toys inside and put them in my room. I’m going to head back and get our pizza order.” “Yes sir.” Arc calls forth his gauntlet and opens a portal. As he steps forward Scootaloo calls out to him. “Big Brother!” Arc turns. “Yes?” “I… I’m sorry for what I said and did to Dinky.” “Don’t tell me that. Tell her.” “Okay.” Arc enters the portal and vanishes. Reappearing on the sigil behind the pizzeria, Cherry calls out to him. “You were kinda hard on her.” “I don’t think I was.” “No, no. I mean… something’s bothering her.” “Anyone could see that.” “While I hate to pry, maybe you should have pushed her a bit harder for details.” Arc raises an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just say I was too hard on her?” Cherry sighs. “I don’t really know which way is right at the moment.” “Neither do I.” “Really?” “While I could have just ordered her to tell me what was going on… I mean… as my thrall she couldn’t have said no.” “But you didn’t.” Arc nods. “Right. Because she’s more than just a thrall to me.” “Oh? What do you view her as?” Arc chuckles as he walks around the building. “A very special friend.” Meanwhile, Derpy and Hammer hear a strange sound as they sort the clothes. Hammer frowns. “What the heck IS that?!” Derpy shrugs. “I don’t know.” Sereb raises his head and pricks up his ears. “It is Scootaloo banging her head against the back door.” Derpy and Hammer call out in tandem. “WHAT?!’ They hurry upstairs and open the door. Scootaloo stands there with her arms laden with bags from the toy store. “Let us help you with that!” “Yeah! You’ve got quite a load there!” Scootaloo appears relieved as they take the bags. “Thanks. They’re not really that heavy. Just bulky. That and I guess I didn’t stop to think how I was going to get the door open with my hands full.” Hammer gasps. “There more of this stuff out there?” Scootaloo nods. “Yes, but I’ll get it.” A few minutes later Scootaloo enters Arc’s parent’s room. She spies Derpy and Hammer unpacking the boxes. Derpy turns to Hammer. “These are Earth toys?” Hammer shrugs. “I guess. Not really much to look at though.” Scootaloo frowns. “Well I think they’re cool. Big Brother was showing us how to play with them in the store.” “Right!” Scootaloo turns to see Dinky walk in. “We made up a story and acted it out with action figures.” Hammer appears confused. “How?” Dinky grins. “I’ll show you!” She kneels down and holds up an action figure. Derpy looks it over cautiously. “Is this… supposed to be Arc?!” Hammer squeals happily. “Dibs!” Hammer grabs the Hero of Light figure as Dinky hands her mother the Dragon Figure. “I’ll be the Faithful Steed! Scootaloo, do you want to be…?” Turning, she finds that the young girl has left. Sighing, Dinky returns her gaze to the figures before her.