A Journey Unthought Of

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 13 REVISED

Because of course I couldn't be seen our options were somewhat limited for what we could do. We did go to a diner where we quickly downed several donuts and some coffee. I'm sure the owner had to wonder where Lyra put all of the food she ordered judging by the look on his skeptical face, but he got paid so he didn't have to think to much about it afterward. There of course were taverns and pubs we could go to, but sitting down in one for too long might be risky.

"We could always go to the opera," Lyra said in her normal tone, unafraid of anyone hearing while we remained on the backstreets.

"Uuuuuh, no," I replied as I rubbed the back of my neck, "That's definitely not my cup of tea."

"We could go to the movies," she also offered, "A couple of bits could get us three or four showings."

"Three or four showings," I asked in confusion as we hit the halfway point of the alley, "Just how long are these movies?"

"Oh, about eight or ten minutes depending on the show," she replied, unaware of my culture shock. She gave a little laugh, "There's this one actor, Happy Chap, who plays a bumbling stallion named Buster. Every feature he's in is comedic gold!"

"Yeah? What kind of jokes does he tell?"

"Tell," Lyra looked up at me, almost as confused as I was becoming, "He doesn't tell any of his jokes; they're all slapstick or situational, like he'll go into a building and in some way the whole thing will fall down around him but leave him unharmed."

"So you haven't gotten to movies where they talk yet," I asked, beginning to lower my voice as we approached the street ahead.

"Talking movies?" She shook her head a little, "That sounds completely weird. Talking would just ruin the magic of it I think."

Everyday it felt like I could laugh more and more at the strangeness of how similar but how foreign our worlds were from each other. "Don't knock it until you've tried it," I said just loud enough over the bustle of the moving ponies around us to be heard, "You might find they have a magic all their own."

"Until it happens here I will remain skeptical," she replied, "Still, why not give me an example of what your favorite movie is?"

"Hang on a sec," I said as we weaved through the crowd, angling for the next alley we could pass through. Once we hit the entrance I began my defense of my world's strange art, "My favorite movies are a trilogy, actually. They were originally a set of books written a long time before I was born. The author grew up with the kind of movies you're used to, so he never thought his work could be done justice by adapting it. When I was young though, some people did their best to do just that."

"What was it called," she asked.

I smiled to myself as I reminisced, "The Lord of the RIngs."

"And what was it about?"

"Well, I guess it boils down to this: it's a story about a hobbit, that's someone like me, but about half as tall, named Frodo, who goes on a quest with the help of eight friends to rid their world of a great evil. Action and battles were had, bonds were forged, and sacrifices were made." I paused for a moment as I thought a little longer on what I wanted to say, "What really stuck with me though was when Frodo started to lose hope that the quest could be completed, because his best friend, another hobbit named Sam, told him that were some good things left in the world, and that they were worth fighting for."

Lyra seemed to understand the impact this idea had on me, even if she wasn't sure why. She instinctively stopped when she no longer heard me walking beside her. "What happened next," she said with a pause, "Did they succeed?"

I nodded, though she couldn't see it, and finally I said with a small exhale, "It didn't seem like they would, but yeah, they did."

"Why would you say it's your favorite?"

I really had to think on that for a second. There were plenty of obvious reasons, but I felt like there was something deeper I was trying to express along with those things, even if I hadn't quite caught up verbally with what I was feeling. "I guess," I declared at last, "I guess it's because I need a story like that: one where in spite of everything going against me, there's still a chance there's a happy ending just over the horizon."

After that I felt a little awkward, and just unsure why I felt kind of embarrassed to admit it. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't initially feel a foreleg reach around my knees and pull tight. Surprised, I looked down to see Lyra giving me a tight sidehug.

"Um-well-I," I sputtered a little before Lyra looked up right into my eyes somehow.

"I don't know why you feel that way," she said quietly, "but I can tell how much it means to you, and I'm glad you have it."

"Thanks," I said quietly, suddenly unsure of what I was feeling.

"It's not a problem," she said as she let me go and returned to all four hooves.

I wasn't sure what I wanted or needed to do next, that is until I heard a sudden but muted explosion of bass-y sound, followed by some electric beats and synth. Snapped out of my stupor, a moment of disbelief came over me, "No way!"

"What," Lyra asked, before she realized the sounds of my footfalls were already getting quieter as I was running down the alley, "Hey, wait up!"

It turns out that the music was indeed what I thought it was: though worlds apart from Earth, I could still get my electronica fix. The building it was coming out of appeared to have once been a mid-sized shop or small warehouse, but now held the role of a very colorful nightclub. Ponies were lining up to get in, almost to the next business over even! The bass thrummed, the speakers peaked for a second on some squealing notes, all before it was brought back around by some expertly handled scratching. It sent a thrill up my spine like I hadn't felt in a long time. It made me feel so alive! Lyra seemed to be enjoying it as well, but in a more subdued kind of way.

"It's good stuff," I exclaimed with a grin on my face.

"It's certainly got more finesse than most house music I've heard," Lyra commented, "It's got a flow and attitude that I'd expect to find in sheet music rather than something mixed together. Whoever's jockeying clearly has a lot of musical talent!"

"We should totally get closer," I said, the music inspiring a little bit of misplaced confidence in me.

"You know we can't go inside: there's too many ponies to bump into."

I smirked down at her before lifting my shroud and gesturing for her to come under with me, "I didn't say we had to go in: we can just get closer!"

She looked at my pantlegs and then up to where my voice had come from. "I dunno," she replied slowly, "We've already taken a lotta risks tonight. Can't we just sit here maybe and listen for a little bit?"

I looked up at the roof of the club, then off to the side of the building opposite of the line, and I said, "Come on! We can listen from up above, and we get to see what's going inside. It'll be fine so long as no one sees us go up I'd bet."

After struggling with a some reservation, Lyra stepped under the hem of my invisible sheet.

"There's no way we will not be spotted like this," she said as we both realized the shroud wasn't big enough to cover the both of us walking together.

"Just let me carry you," I exclaimed, "If I carry you we only need to worry about one set of legs, and we'll both fit that way."

Lyra looked up at me for a second then sighed with growing frustration, "Fine, let's just make it quick."

I squatted down and brought my arms out to gently scoop her up. She braced her forehooves against my right arm, I supported her back hooves from below with my left forearm, and brought the rest of my arm around to support her body. I could tell from her body language that Lyra wasn't really comfortable with this situation, so I held her close and walked as quickly as I could across the street. There was a flight of metal stairs in the alley that I quickly took us up two at a time. When we had reached the top I set down my friend, who was all too happy to be back on the ground again, where she could feel the support of something under her hooves. Jumping down out from under my shroud, she walked towards the large pane glass windows. I threw back some of my shroud so I could feel the night air across my face, and not have to look through the muffled veil. We settled down near the closest windows to look at the show beneath us.

Lights flashed, lasers zigged and zagged all over the place, and ponies danced the night away. Our attention then turned towards the elevated stage from which the music was booming out. Standing amongst the subwoofers and hundreds of feet of cable was a white unicorn, her hooves a constant blur. Her eyes, obscured by a set of specialized glasses, turned to one side of the board in front of her, checking the levels of her sound, then modulating her switches. She eased a dial to her right a little bit higher then gave her records a deep scratch, causing her sound to frenetically wobble, before her hooves came up in a grand finishing gesture, and the music faded.

The crowd roared in delight. I wanted to yell too, but knew if I did the fun would be over for the both of us for sure. Still, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had been before, so I started to take off my shroud completely.

Lyra noticed and looked at me with bewilderment, "Adam! You can't-"

"Just give me a few minutes," I exclaimed, "I don't want to feel like I'm hiding all the time anymore."

"GOOOOOD EVENIN' CANTERLOOOOOOT," the DJ's words drowned out Lyra's protests as she spoke into the microphone in front of her, "HOW'RE WE FEELIN' TONIGHT?"

The crowd roared again.

"YOU ENJOYIN' MY ARRANGEMENTS, EH?"

The crowd cheered and whistled in response.

"YOU WOULDN' LIKE MORE, WOULDJA?"

"YEAH," we roared back.

"YOU SURE OF THA'," she said with a smile, and we all responded back with another big yeah. "GRAND," she replied, "COZ I'VE GOT MORE WHERE THA' CAME FROM, AN' I'D HAVE LOOKED LIKE A RIGHT NINNY IF I'D SUDDENLY STOPPED, HUH?"

The crowd laughed a little.

"DON'T YOU FRET MY LOVELIES," she said as she switched records, "DJ-PON3 WOULD NEVAH LEAVE YOU HANGIN'. LET'S BLAST'EM OUT IN THE STREET, SHALL WE?"

We cheered. Even if I was separated by glass from the club below I felt like I was a part of the atmosphere. I felt like I belonged, and I hadn't felt like that in a long time. We all got to share in the experience: the music didn't care, and it entertained us whoever we were.

"Hey you," I heard a voice I didn't recognize. My senses returned to me, and I remembered that I wasn't invisible anymore: I was exposed.

Lyra whirled around, and the voice continued, "What're you doing up here?"

I jerked upward as I bolted to my feet, but I slipped due to my surprise. I tried to correct myself, but it was too late. I fell hard onto the glass pane. It only supported me for a moment, and then I was falling through it. It was all happening in such a rush, but I felt like everything began to slow around me. I saw the bouncer who had busted me and Lyra, head turning and eyes widening as she realized what was happening. I saw more than heard her yell my name. I saw the hole I had made in the glass as I fell, sparkling shards falling around me, yells and screams coming from below. It was a pretty big fall I remembered, and that now there was no suit to protect me.

What a stupid way to go out, I thought.

Suddenly I felt something grab my ankle hard. My fall was halted. It was at this point I realized my eyes had involuntarily closed, and now I forced them open. There was still at least thirty feet to the floor below, and though I had stopped I was ready to smack into it head first. Then I noticed the crowd. All eyes were on me; not a set looked away. I was exposed, with nothing to hide, as if I could hide anymore; the alien had gone public, and in the worst possible way.

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

so he didn't have to think too much about it afterward.

"You might find they have a magic all on their own."

After struggling with a some reservation, Lyra stepped under the hem of my invisible sheet.