Long trips by car always seemed to lull Will to sleep. The monotonous hum of the engine, the long stretches of boring highway, and the same twenty songs playing on the radio every hour can do that to a person. But having a friend along for the ride definitely helped.
“... so Wyram went and created the White City, and it gets kinda complicated, but he separates himself by making his own pocket dimension…”
Nick loved his stories, and Will was more than happy to lend an ear to his ramblings. Nick fantasized about these crazy worlds with all-powerful gods, light and darkness, life and death. Those were his peanut butter and jelly. Well, that and world politics.
This monologue had lasted for a couple of hours now since Will picked Nick up from Boston. They had just passed a sign saying “Welcome to Connecticut.” Not far from the Big Apple now.
“Hey Nick,” Will interrupted. “How much longer till we get to Greenwich?”
“Just about an hour and a half.”
“Ughh… Dammit.”
“Come on man, you drove nine hours to Baltimore, and that was only because you wouldn’t let me take over in the last four.”
Letting out a deep sigh, Will leaned back in his seat, pushing his glasses further up his nose.
“Well, at least it will be worth it. I haven’t been to a Broadway show since Mary Poppins.”
“I’m surprised that Vincent even wanted to join us. Didn’t take him for a musical theater guy.”
The two lapsed back into silence as the highway began to rise above ground level slightly. The peaks of houses fell away, revealing the sprawling suburbia around them. Hartford seemed to be a simple small town brought to a larger scale. Cookie cutter houses laid out in a gridlike pattern, broken up by the occasional strip mall or public park. The traffic picked up as they entered the city proper, slowing travel slightly.
“So did you hear about the meeting the president had with North Korea?” Nick asked.
“You know I don’t watch the news,” Will huffed indignantly. “All news lately has been tragedies and celebrity scandals. I’ve already lost faith in humanity, I don't need any more reasons to not like politics.” Letting out a slight chuckle at the end, Will tried to cover for the slightly rude tone he used.
“I know Will, but it is kind of important. You do have a say in how your country is run. That’s why we vote.”
If not for the engine running, one could hear crickets.
“Will?”
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t vote, did you.”
“Uhh…”
The audible smack of Nick’s hand being applied to his forehead caused Will to flinch slightly.
-~xXXXx~-
Trees,
Trees,
Trees,
Oh look, a rock.
Forests like these were not very commonplace, but twisted chaos does strange things to flora and fauna. Kapok trees, or scientifically speaking, Ceiba pentandra, are very tall. So much so that their trunks reach far into the canopy, branching off into thick branches with leaves that both block out the sun, but also trap the heat below. Unlike normal Kapok, however, the trunks spiralled and curled around each other, their roots covered in thorns. Creatures like lizards, insects, and amphibians thrived in this climate. But for a pony with a fair coat? Sweaty, uncomfortable, and muggy are the words that would come to mind.
For Clover, however, it was par for the course. After all, she was a scientist. A unicorn! No amount of discomfort would warrant a pause in research. However, a nice cool bath would be well appreciated after her return home.
Animals called out to each other throughout the forest, creating a cacophony of sounds, like a tone-deaf orchestra.
“Shouldn’t be far now,” Clover mused out loud.
She had been travelling through the jungle for three moons, moving during the day, and resting during the night. The books written about this part of the Everfree said that most of the more dangerous creatures came out in darkness, so hiding was most likely the most logical solution.
“According to Master Starswirl’s notes, the shrine should be just ahead.”
Lighting her horn to push aside the thick leaves of the underbrush ferns, Clover’s eyes are forced to adjust as sunlight pierces the canopy.
Light filled Clover’s vision as she trotted through into a clearing, the thick ferns gave way to short grass, and the air here seemed to cool down slightly, as the wind was able to reach the forest floor here. Clover relaxed slightly as the slight breeze ran through her purple coat, and caused her well kept indigo mane to get blown into her face. What Clover was more interested in however, were six individual pillars of stone dominating the clearing, each made of a similar stone brick.
“Master, what did you get yourself into?”
Clover sat on her haunches just outside the circle of obelisks, pulling some paper from her saddlebags.
“I’m lucky you left your notes, Master,” Clover spoke to the air. “Interdimensional magics, far too advanced for any normal unicorn. I hadn’t even thought of the possibilities. If it weren’t for your ramblings, I would have no notion of what you’ve done. The notes are complicated, sure, but they don’t call me ‘The Clever’ for no reason.”
With that, Clover set the notes aside, stepping into the ruins. With a flash, Clover’s horn lit again and began to brighten slowly. Purple light gathered from the aether, condensing, becoming brighter and brighter. A second layer of energy began to gather, banishing all shadows.
With the flick of her neck, the light shot like a bolt into the sky. For a moment, it seemed to disappear, until a shockwave tore through the forest, light flying in multiple directions. For a moment, Clover swore she saw the sky crack.
-~xXXXx~-
“Come on Will, I'm telling you, you'd love Peter Capaldi's doctor.” Nick was trying to explain.
“Two words Nick.”
“Yeah?”
“Sonic... Sunglasses. There’s bizarre, and then there is downright ridiculous.”
“As ridiculous as, oh I don’t know. A man in a blue box? Aliens that are essentially flying trash cans? Statues that send their prey through time to kill them and steal your life essence?”
Will fell silent, not quite sure how to respond to that.
“You really like being right, don’t you Nick?”
“Well, yeah but that’s beside the point,” Nick laughs.
The pair had driven through Waterbury around 30 minutes ago, and it was already getting dark outside, the sun starting to disappear from view, the sky turning various shades of oranges, reds, and purples. The traffic had lightened up since leaving Hartford at least. Sunset was on the horizon, silhouetting the trees on the edges of the highway, the autumn leaves fading to black shadows.
The headlights reflected the guard rails as they came up to meet the road, transitioning from metal to concrete. The red light of the sunset broke through the tree line, and shined off the small ripples of the river that showed itself passing underneath the upcoming bridge.
“Nick, what time is it?”
“Only about 6, we still have an hour and a half left ‘till the show starts.”
“So we have a half hour left before we get there. Vincent shoul- HOLY SHIT!”
Will, blinded by an eruption of purple light, covered his eyes in panic, letting go of the wheel. The two felt a violent jolt with the sound of the concrete barriers on the bridge being broken and metal twisting, crumbling, accompanied by the shattering of glass. The sensation of a freefall overtook the vehicle. The light persisted as the car was sent tumbling, spinning out of control. A thought occurred to Nick: ‘why aren’t we hitting the water?’
That thought was interrupted by the sound of crashing foliage and breaking tree limbs. Nick and Will were tossed around as the car bounced off tree limbs, the cabin crushing inward like a used soda can. With a few more rolls, the car seemed to come to a stop, the car leaning against the trunk of a tree. There was a moment of relative quiet, the groaning of the metal death trap slowing to a halt. The world, still tilted on its side, became still, Nick and Will struggling to breathe properly.
“You know,” Nick huffed, unable to see past his own strawberry blond bangs. “How we survived without the airba-”
With a loud pomf, their vision was whited out by fabric exploding from the dashboard. Will’s strained chuckles were muffled from underneath the now deflating balloons, streaks of red staining the white fabric.
“Oh, right. The fucking airbags.”