//------------------------------// // Encounter // Story: Another World: Discovering the Unknown // by Zen //------------------------------// 2: Encounter There was one part about cities everywhere that Zen didn’t particularly care for; traffic. Even on this new world traffic behaved very much like it did back on Earth. Congested city streets, waits that feel like forever at pedestrian crossings, constant construction everywhere, this was one of the few aspects of life that experienced very little change on Haven. The green light came on, the pedestrian signal changed, and Zen and James walked across one of Crystal City’s many inner-city streets. Zen could feel the heat radiating from the baking asphalt and was thankful for the cooling ocean breezes. “Reminds me of back home…” Zen muttered as they reached the other side of the street and continued along it. “What reminds you of home?” James asked. “A lot of things actually.” Zen admitted. “Wandering the core streets of a big city, feeling the heat radiate from said streets and the concrete. You know the city I come from is not unlike this one.” “Really now?” James replied. “And yeah this does kinda remind me of back home too. Heh, this actually slightly reminds me of the afternoon we met back in Colorado Springs at that mall.” “You know what, this does seem a lot like that afternoon.” Zen laughed a bit. “And I’m glad I was able to go, even if that day left me broke afterwards. I had a lot of fun there.” “We were glad you were able to come down for the day! I certainly remembered you being that guy who always wanted to try and make it to every meet, and often you did. So tell me, why is Crystal City like the city you come from? Longmont is nothing like this.” “Longmont? Oh no, Longmont was just the place I grew up. I’m actually from Jacksonville.” “As in, Jacksonville, Florida?” “That’s correct.” “That’s a pretty long ways away from where we were all at.” “You don’t have to tell me that.” They reached another street and waited for the signal to change. James looked around. “So how long were you in Colorado?” “For longer than I cared for.” Zen replied, but lacked any sort of real emotion in his response. “Don’t get me wrong, Colorado’s a wonderful place, but I stayed in one place for far too long. I needed someplace to move that was new, someplace where I could just be myself and make my own schedule and not have to worry about too much.” The signal changed and the two walked across the street. “Someplace like this one?” A knowing grin grew on James’ face. “Exactly. It’s why I was so eager to leave and come here. Sure it sucked leaving my family behind and I do miss them, but since coming here much of the stress and frustration I had back home is gone and I feel like a totally new me. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve felt this good about anything.” “I see…” James’ voice trailed off. As the two walked, Zen was constantly observing everything around him. He observed the relatively cloudless sky above, people and ponies mingling on balconies across the many condos in the area, and a team of unicorns attempting to fix a rather large pothole in the road half a block to his left. “I can see why you chose to establish yourself here, Zen.” James said as the pair crossed another road and under an elevated monorail. “Oh yeah?” Zen replied, eyebrow raised. “This place is both hot and humid, two things you always mentioned about having in your ideal home.” James answered. “You also have always seemed like the type who enjoys being in the bustle of the big city with plenty of things to do, but also enjoys being somewhere one can relax pretty easily in. Crystal City seems to fit that description as well.” “Heh, you’d be correct on that one. Anyone who asked me about what I thought about living back home knew immediately that I preferred life elsewhere, even if it meant leaving the biggest and best social ring I ever stumbled upon.” “Hey man, even if you had left us you’d always be welcome in our group.” James extended a closed fist. Zen paused for a moment, then met closed fist with closed fist. “What about you though?” “What about me?” “What sort of place would you prefer? I can tell that Crystal City isn’t exactly your style.” James was silent for a few moments. “…I miss Colorado.” Zen sighed, remembering the place he used to call home. He wondered if anyone there still remembered him after ten years. “I think we all do James, in some way or another.” In truth, Zen really did enjoy Colorado. There were few places in America where living well didn’t mean needing exceptionally deep bank accounts. Colorado was also one of the few places to have four truly distinct seasons, and had a lot of other very odd and special quirks that made it a popular place to both live and travel to any time of the year. The only real thing it lacked was a giant lake or an ocean of some sort; otherwise one could find almost anything there. Zen also didn’t particular care for the extreme dryness or for the elevation. He didn’t function very well at higher altitudes, but the fact that he put up with it for nearly twenty years must mean that he enjoyed living there well enough. He did miss the majestic Rocky Mountains however. Their destination, the Crystal City Mall, was only a few blocks away now. Zen could actually spy some of the features of the multi-level structure between condos and office towers on his right. Glancing to his left, the city flattened out very quickly and he could see clear blue skies save for the occasional pegasus flying around. On the ground groups of people and ponies of all varieties mingled at various shops and restaurants, in parking lots, and alongside streets. Even after a decade in Haven, Zen couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride in being where he was currently at. Not even in his wildest dreams did he ever think such a thing as humans and ponies living together in peace would be possible, and add in their own little world to share separate from both Earth and Equestria was like a golden frosting on the best cake he had ever had the honor to partake in. So while it was true that he also missed Colorado and the place he used to call home, he was equally as glad to have left the problems of that world behind and for the chance to start anew. The two rounded a corner in the direction of the mall. Zen continued to walk without stopping, but he heard something that caused him to pause momentarily. Looking back for the source of the sound, he noticed that James had stopped by the corner. Zen backtracked and saw what James was looking at: a tan earth pony strumming on an acoustic guitar. The stallion looked like he had seen better days, but Zen thought that he could play the guitar pretty well. The two listened for several minutes in silence as the pony played on. What was being played was a mystery to Zen, who figured it must have been a song brought from Equestria. Zen enjoyed hearing the music of Equestria, a totally different culture and lifestyle meant more music for him to add to his already large library. This was especially true after he began to notice bands consisting of both humans and ponies where musical styles often blended and clashed at the same time to create totally new genres and sounds. After a few more minutes of silently listening, Zen reached into his pocket and pulled out some pocket change. He deposited the coins in a jar that the stallion had set out. James also dropped a few coins into the jar and the two made to leave. The stallion stopped playing long enough to give them a small salute of gratitude. “It’s much appreciated.” He said with a gruff voice. “Always a pleasure to lend a hand to a fellow musician, especially one as talented as yourself.” Zen replied and returned the gesture in kind. “You play too, huh?” The stallion looked up, revealing bright green eyes. “A little. Can’t say I’m more than a novice, but I do play some bass guitar from time to time.” “Heh.” The stallion returned his attention to his guitar playing. “Maybe you should stop by that joint there at the other end of the block. Got all kinds of locals showing up once a week to jam for whoever’ll listen.” Zen looked over at the location in question. He couldn’t see much from this angle though. “I’ll keep that in mind. It was a pleasure to listen to your music though.” “The pleasure was mine.” The stallion went silent as he continued to play. Zen and James walked on. Zen glanced at the establishment that was recommended as they passed it. It was currently closed, so he couldn’t make much of it, but decided that he would in fact stop by at some point when it was open and maybe join a jam session. Zen checked his watch as they crossed another street. “We’re going to be pretty early.” He observed. “How early?” James asked. “About forty-five minutes or so.” Zen said. “It gives us time to screw around at the mall, and I haven’t been there for a while. I’ve actually heard that there’s a new arcade, so we could check that out.” “Alright, let’s do that.” They crossed the last street and the large parking lot in front of the Crystal City Mall. As much as Zen enjoyed the heat and the general climate of his current home, he was looking forward to the air conditioned halls and shops of the multi-level structure. Walking inside, Zen immediately headed for a directory. James simply stayed back for a minute to look around. Even indoors James kept his shades on; Zen never understood why. “Okay, so we’re here…” Zen muttered as he pointed to a spot on the map. “…this is that new arcade here…” He pointed to the arcade on the list at the bottom of the map. “…if that is the store number, then that means it must be located…here!” He found where the arcade was located within the mall and motioned for James to follow. Moments later the pair was standing at the entrance to the Crystal Arcade. Inside the walls were decorated to match the natural surroundings of the city; palm trees, beaches, endless oceans, and other such things were painted across every visible surface. Even the ceiling and floors matched the décor. Humans and ponies alike milled about, playing all kinds of games within the arcade. Behind the counter all manner of prizes waited to be claimed. Zen and James stepped inside. Zen obtained himself a small handful of tokens and wandered about one end of the arcade and lost track of James. He gazed across the various machines, recognizing some titles as ones that had been brought from Earth, though there were still a good handful of other titles he had not heard of before. “Oh come on!” Zen froze as he heard those words. He knew that voice, he knew that voice very well. “I swear this thing is rigged!” Zen slowly began to scan the crowded establishment for the source of that voice. Being relatively taller than most by several inches at least certainly comes in handy from time to time, and this was one of those times. After a moment of searching he found the source of the voice; a cyan-colored pegasus mare in front of a machine. “No way…” Zen muttered to himself and slowly made his way over. He had heard rumors over the past few years that the main characters of the My Little Pony cartoon he enjoyed had found their way to Haven, but he had not seen anything firsthand to confirm those rumors. At least not until now. He silently stood a few feet to the side of the rainbow-haired mare, watching as she put another token into the slot where it rolled down a ramp and flew right into the spinning wheel before falling out of sight into a tray, which elicited another bout of displeased words from the pegasus. “Frustrating little machine isn’t it?” Zen spoke up, now standing beside her in front of the machine. Startled, the pegasus jumped back and nearly fell over. Zen was fast though and managed to catch her before she fell over. “Don’t do that!” She protested after regaining her balance. “My apologies, I didn’t realize how focused you were.” Zen said. “And I was about to have that whole timing thing down for it too!” Clearly frustrated, she turned her attention back to the machine. “Besides, what would you know about this machine?” Zen raised an eyebrow and quickly judged the speed of the wheel and the approximate time it would take for the token to travel from the slot to the wheel. Before the pegasus could make another attempt, Zen snuck a token into the slot and watched as it sailed through a slot in the wheel, causing the machine to spit out fifteen tickets. “I spent a lot of time at arcades like this one back on Earth.” Zen confessed to the rather surprised mare. She let out a harrumph and stuck another token into the machine. This one, like her last, bounced off the wheel and into the abyss below. “Okay, wise guy, how’d you do that?” She demanded. “Like I said, I spent a lot of time at arcades.” Zen repeated. “And just like you already know, it’s all about the timing. Figure out how long it takes for the coin to travel down the ramp and how long between slots on the wheel. Like this…” Zen waited a moment and inserted another token, this time earning him ten tickets. It also earned him a glare from the mare. “You make it look so easy.” Her voiced dripped with sarcasm. “Do you even know wh-“ Suddenly she looked rather deflated. “Oh who am I kidding these days?” Zen thought that if his eyebrow went any higher it would merge with his hairline. “Is something wrong, Dash?” The mention of her name immediately got her attention. “You know who I am?” “You seem rather surprised at that fact.” Zen replied as he tore his winnings from the machine and offered them to Rainbow Dash. She stared at the tickets for a moment before slowly taking them. “How do you know who I am?” “Would you believe me if I told you that a cartoon is responsible for that?” Zen said with a slight grin. “Let’s step outside and talk.” Rainbow simply looked at Zen for another moment before deciding to follow him out. Zen sat down at a table in front of the arcade; Rainbow sat opposite. “So, seriously, how do you know me?” Rainbow insisted. “Like I said, I know about you because of a cartoon back on Earth.” Zen insisted. “But why are you so surprised that I know who you are?” Rainbow sighed. “I’ve been on this world a good while. I lost track of time long ago, so I’m not sure how long. But ever since I got here, it’s like nobody knows who I am anymore.” Zen became very confused. “Elaborate?” “I mean, I’m only the Rainbow Dash! Back in Ponyville I was the best flyer around, the town’s top weather pony, I was going to be in the Wonderbolts!” She looked desperate with this last bit before sighing and looking down. “But then one day I woke up here in this place. Took me days to find anyone else, and when I did it was as if nopony had ever heard or seen me before. I haven’t seen any of my friends since I got here either, so I’m really worried about them. In fact I’ve been flying around from place to place, hoping to find any sign of them, but so far no luck. I only just recently came to this island, thinking maybe a little vacation would be nice. But no matter where I’ve gone, it’s like I’m some stranger to everypony.” “Not gonna lie, I found it rather odd myself that you were by yourself and didn’t have some fan tagging along.” Zen leaned back in his chair. He checked the time and discovered they still had nearly twenty minutes before Kevin and Zan showed up. “Yeah. I mean, every once in a while somepony will recognize me. I’m just wondering if this has also happened to any of my friends…” Rainbow was visibly upset at this point. Zen walked around and sat next to Rainbow. He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry this has happened to you, and I wish I had some sort of answer.” Rainbow faked a smile and looked up at him. “Do you know why we’re all here?” “Unfortunately I’m still lacking in a lot of the details.” Zen admitted. “All I know is that a group of humans back on Earth attempted to open a rift to Equestria, but something went wrong and the rift led to this world instead. Somehow that same rift opened in Equestria and ponies were brought here as well. I don’t know how ponies came here, but I along with every single other human on this world all came here by choice. It wouldn’t explain why very few people seem to recognize you, because everyone who knew about Equestria back on Earth knew about you and your friends. I want to chalk it up to people just not paying attention, but you stand out pretty well.” Zen stared off into space at that thought. “I just want to find my friends…” Rainbow said softly. “I don’t even really care that much anymore that I’m a nopony these days. I just want to know that my friends are alright…” Zen put his arm across Rainbow’s shoulders. “You’re not the only one who’s been separated from their friends.” It was Rainbow’s turn to look confused. “Really?” Zen nodded. “That’s right. When I and my group of friends left Earth to come here, we were all separated upon arrival. I’ve only just recently begun to find any of them, and it’s mostly because they came here and found me. In fact, one such friend just found me a few hours ago and we were going to have dinner with a few more here in a bit.” “Oh. Well I don’t want to intrude, you ha-“ Rainbow made to get up but Zen wouldn’t remove his arm. She looked at him for a moment, trying to determine his motives. “I know my friends would be happy to meet you Rainbow.” Zen winked. “Besides, being lonely is something nobody should ever be. So please, will you join us?” For a moment Zen thought the pegasus was going to insist on leaving, but after a moment he felt her relax and settle back down in the chair. “Only if you tell me who you are.” She said. “You can call me Zen.” Zen smiled. Rainbow smiled back. “Something tells me you and my friends would get along very nicely.” Zen chuckled a bit. “You think so, huh?” Rainbow nodded. “So where are your friends?” Zen looked back in the arcade just as James stepped out. “There’s one of them.” Zen waved to get James’ attention. James saw Zen waving and began to head over but slowed down as he noticed that Zen wasn’t alone. Zen saw James mouth something inaudible before shaking his head and walking over to the table. “It seems he recognized you.” Zen said under his breath. “I thought I lost you back in there.” James said as he took a seat. “And is that…?” He pointed at Rainbow, who waved back at him with a smile. “Your timing was good since the others should be here any moment now.” Zen relaxed back in his own chair, looking around for Kevin or Zan. “And yes, this is in fact Rainbow Dash.” James continued to stare, mouth slightly agape. “So my ears weren’t deceiving me…” “Oh…you heard that too?” Rainbow grinned apologetically. “Rainbow, this is James.” Zen introduced his friend. “He’s the friend that just met up with me earlier today.” “A pleasure to meet you.” James said with a nod, and was about to say something but his attention seemed to have been diverted. “I think our friends are here, Zen.” Zen and Rainbow both turned to look in the direction that James was. Zen immediately spotted them. Heading towards them was a pair of young adult males; one was rather skinny and just marginally shorter than Zen but with dark hair, the other was of average build and height but with orange hair and a very fair complexion. Both were wearing glasses of some kind. “Yo Zen!” The taller one called out. “Long time no see buddy!” “Long time no see indeed Zan.” Zen stood up and greeted his other friends. “And Kevin, it’s also been awhile.” Before Kevin could speak, Zan pointed over Zen’s shoulder and said. “That’s Rainbow Dash.” Zen was just about to introduce them to the pegasus and James when Zan repeated, “That’s Rainbow Dash.” “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” Rainbow said with a grin. Zen could tell that she was enjoying every second of this. “Yes, that’s Rainbow Dash.” Zen said. “Now then, I don’t know about you guys but I am absolutely starving.” “That pizza place we used to go to is still here.” Kevin suggested. “I haven’t had a decent pizza in a long while.” James said. “Alright, so then unless anyone objects…” Zen paused and waited for a moment. “…then pizza it is!” Those who were still seated stood up and the crew walked over to the food court. Zen’s nostrils will assaulted by the dozens of smells wafting around from the various eateries in the large food court. “So I got two questions…” Zan said as they walked over to Ocean’s Pizzeria. “Fire away.” Zen said as he started looking over the menu. “Who is that guy?” Zan pointed at James. “And where did Dash come from?” “Well I just met up with Dash back in that arcade, and there’s a lengthy story behind that encounter alone.” Zen replied without taking his eyes off the menu. “And our other companion is James. He’s from our group, but lived in the southern part of the state. I only met him personally a few times before we all came here. He caught up with me today with news of some kind of project that we’re all needed for. I told him to hold off on the details until we met up with you two.” “Interesting.” Zan nodded with pursed lips. “I think I’m gonna go with the usual.” Kevin said. “Same here.” Zen said before addressing James and Dash. “What are you two getting?” “I think I’m going with the ‘Local’s Favorite’ option.” James pointed to one of the specialties, which included smoked ham, three different kinds of cheeses, and various vegetable toppings. “I can’t afford anything here…” Rainbow said after a moment, then pointed to an empty saddlebag. “My treat.” Zen offered. “I won’t stand by and let you go hungry while we all have a meal.” Rainbow hesitated. “I’d feel bad.” She said. “I’d have no way to pay you back.” “Don’t worry about it Rainbow.” Zen insisted. “Money isn’t a problem for me. I helped build this city from the ground up, so I’m pretty much set for life here.” Rainbow looked back at the menu. “Do you insist?” “I do insist, especially if you wouldn’t be able to afford a decent meal otherwise.” Rainbow sighed. “Alright, but make sure I can pay you back.” Zen stifled a grin and a laugh. Within a few minutes they had each ordered their desired picks and were enjoying cold sodas at a table, waiting for someone to call their table number. “So…” Kevin said after a moment. “How did you meet Dash, Zen?” Zen glanced over at Dash, who was busy admiring the hanging décor, for a brief moment before giving an overview of how he had initially encountered her in the arcade to her explaining her personal plight with her friends and how hardly anyone seemed to recognize her. “Well shoot.” Zan said, putting his cup down. “I hope you are able to find your friends.” “Same here.” Kevin said, and James simply nodded. “Thanks guys…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off. “Yeah, and until you decide otherwise you’re more than welcome to hang out with us.” Zen added. “One of the things my group of friends and I prided ourselves on back on Earth was our willingness to reach out to anyone in need, and right now it looks like you could use someone, or four, to hang out with for now.” Rainbow looked around at the four men, who all added their own agreement in turn. “You guys really mean it?” She asked. Zen could tell that she was fighting her emotions. “Of course we mean it.” Zan said. Rainbow beamed. “You guys are officially awesome!” Just then someone called out their table number and Zan went to get their food. It wasn’t long before everyone was enjoying their dinner and exchanging stories in an attempt to catch up. Zen noticed Rainbow wasn’t saying much however. “You haven’t said much since we started eating.” Zen observed out loud. “What’s up?” Rainbow was about to take another bite, but instead put down the veggie calzone she got. “I just miss my friends.” Zen nodded, but got the feeling that something else was eating at her. “You sure that’s all?” Rainbow nodded and continued eating. Zen was sure that there was something she wasn’t saying, but he wasn’t going to press her for details. The others kept talking as if Zen hadn’t said anything at all. James was also fairly silent, but Zen knew that this was normal for him; from what he remembered James didn’t normally talk very much but instead had this tendency to stay back and just observe from a distance. Zen respected this; it was something that he often did in social gatherings. He was just glad that his friends seemed to be enjoying themselves. Before long everyone had finished their food and was relaxing as food comas threatened to take over. It was right about then that Zen remembered that they had a second reason for meeting up. “So James…” Zen started. “Hmm?” James responded. “So how about this little project you mentioned earlier?” “Oh, right!” James sat forward and rubbed his hands together. “What project?” The other three present said in unison. “Let’s just say that my coming here today wasn’t without a reason.” James started. “I had a purpose for coming here beyond just catching up with friends, though you guys are involved with this.” “Alright then, let’s hear it!” Zan insisted. “Well I think I’m gonna split.” Rainbow suddenly said. “It was nice meeting you guys but-“ Once again Rainbow was cut off by Zen. “Something tells me you’re going to want to hear this.” Zen insisted with a wink. While Zen had no real idea what James was about to say, he could put enough of a picture together to guess that it was similar to what Rainbow Dash was trying to do. Rainbow simply looked at Zen with a puzzled face, but eventually put on a smile and turned her attention back to James. “I just feel like I’m intruding.” She said. “No such thing.” Kevin replied. “Well then…” James said pulling out a tablet computer from his backpack that Zen had somehow failed to notice. “…this is why I’m really here…”