6: Parting Ways
Pulling up to Dan’s Grille, Zen and company noticed that they weren’t the first to arrive. Kevin had showed up, and he had company.
“Looks like Kevin found him.” Zen remarked as he pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine.
Everyone climbed out of the vehicle and walked up to Kevin and Colton. “Long time, no see dude!” Zen said to Colton.
“It has been while.” Colton greeted Zen with an extended hand that Zen took and shook. “So Kevin here more or less explained to me what it is you guys are doing.”
“Yeah, I can’t help but feel like there’s something else they could be doing instead of wasting time waiting for us.” Zen commented dryly. “Like, seriously…oh well.” He shrugged. “This mess gives me an excuse to get out of Crystal City for a while if nothing else.”
“I thought you liked it there?” Kevin asked.
“I do.” Zen said. “I just haven’t left the island for a good year or so, but without personal transportation to go anywhere, I was and am limited to only going wherever my feet and my bike can take me.”
“What about that van?” Colton asked, nodding towards the vehicle.
“Rented from the company that owns the condo I live at.” Zen replied. “The people who own the complexes along the shore also have an auto rental company across the mainland called Haven Rentals.”
“Oh those guys.” Colton said with a nod. “I didn’t know they were also in the real estate business.”
“That happened fairly recently.” Zen said, putting the keys away in his front pocket. “Well I’m getting kinda hungry and I know Twilight here could use some food, so shall we head inside?”
“I don’t see why not.” Kevin said. “James will just have to be late.”
They went inside the restaurant. Dan’s Grille was set up like a typical fast food joint but focused on sandwiches with ingredients cooked on a grille. The interior was decorated with a traditional Southern flair, which Zen found comforting because it reminded him of home without making him homesick. Behind the counter were two menus: one for those who preferred some kind of meat on their sandwiches, and another for vegetarian options. There was also a smaller menu to the side that listed and categorized all the ingredients for those who liked to build their own sandwiches.
Zan, Kevin, and Colton all walked up to the counter and began to place their orders. Zen waited by the door and looked at his two equine companions. “Whenever you two are ready.” He said, glancing over the smaller menu.
“You know by the end of this I’m going to have to find a way to pay you back, right?” Rainbow commented.
“Only if you insist.” Zen replied, grinning as he waited for Twilight and Rainbow to decide what they wanted.
Several minutes later saw them enjoying their food with no signs of James showing up. Twilight was the first to finish her meal.
“Did you inhale that sandwich or something?” Zen commented before he consumed a few more fries.
“Well…” Twilight blushed slightly. “I don’t normally eat that fast, and although I hate to admit it I had been neglecting my health as of late to make ends meet.”
Everyone at the table stopped and stared at the purple unicorn, who shifted uncomfortably and turned slightly more red.
“Twilight, when was the last time you ate?” Rainbow asked, suddenly very concerned for her friend.
Twilight didn’t respond for a moment, but when she did her response was barely audible. “Umm…yesterday morning?”
Rainbow only stared in disbelief, as did most of the humans at the table. Twilight withered slightly under everyone’s gaze.
“Be honest with me here, were things really that bad for you?” Zen asked.
Suddenly Twilight broke down. “Yes!” She sobbed. For the second time that day Rainbow wrapped her friend in an embrace.
Twilight took a moment to compose herself. “I was actually going to go bankrupt within a month if I couldn’t find a way to bring more customers. I was actually considering moving the business somewhere else, but I couldn’t afford to move anywhere, and as hard as I tried there’s just nothing in this town that can help me.”
“You couldn’t get a loan?” Colton asked, finishing off his sandwich.
“The bank refused to help me.” Twilight replied. “They looked at my finances and told me they didn’t think I’d be able to pay a loan off.”
“This is why I hate banks.” Zen said. The others expressed their agreement.
“But now do you understand why I was initially hesitant to come with you?” Twilight asked Zen, who only nodded.
“So Twilight’s coming with us now? That’s cool.” Zan said.
“Well not exactly.” Twilight said.
“What do you mean?” Kevin asked.
“She means that I won’t be joining you guys in Alliance.” Zen said, seeing where this conversation was headed.
“Why not?” Colton asked.
“This was something I was hoping to discuss once everyone is here, but I suppose I can give a quick rundown while we wait for James.” Zen cleared his throat. “There have been a few things that have been bugging me lately that I cannot find a logical answer to, and it won’t stop bugging me until I at least try to make sense out of it. Unfortunately that means I’ll be going to Harmony’s Point instead.”
“What’s been bugging you?” Kevin asked.
“I’ll get into the details after James shows up.” Zen replied.
“Okay, then how are we getting to Alliance?” Zan asked.
“I’ll drive you guys there and drop you off, but after that I’m going straight to Harmony’s Point.”
“So then what about you, Rainbow Dash?” James asked.
Everyone at the table jumped. “Don’t scare us like that!” Zan protested.
“Sorry.” James apologized. “Didn’t realize that I was that stealthy.”
“So yeah, what are you going to do Dash?” Kevin asked.
Rainbow let out a small sigh. “As awesome as you guys have been, and as much as he may not want it, I’ve got a debt to repay to Zen for the hospitality he gave me last night. So I’ll be going with him.”
“So then it’ll just be the four of us huh?” Colton observed, looking at Zan, Kevin, and James.
“Looks like it.” James said. “So then, Zen, why suddenly are you leaving us?”
“Those things I said that were bugging me…” Zen paused for a moment, thinking how to best explain what was going through his head. “Pegasi can’t manipulate weather here. Now I realize that this doesn’t affect us.” Zen gestured between his human friends. “However, when you also consider that for some reason most people don’t recognize ponies like Twilight or Rainbow or the fact that ponies just randomly show up here, things start to make less sense. It’s almost as if there’s something about this world that we’ve found that’s affecting us, and I want to know what exactly is going on. Twilight knows a little bit about what happened that day we discovered Haven, so I suspect that by going to Harmony’s Point and speaking with professors and scientists at Haven University we just might be able to figure things out.”
Zen’s friends thought about what he had just said for a moment. “So what do you know, Twilight?” Colton asked.
“I know that a teleportation spell I was developing with Princess Celestia might directly or indirectly be responsible for why we’re all here.” Twilight responded.
“Heh. So how long will this take?” Zan asked.
“Not sure.” Zen replied. “But I don’t have anything for you guys to get in contact with me.”
James pulled something out of his pocket. “Take this.” He said. Zen took the object; a business card with James’ email address. “Just shoot me an email once you guys get to Harmony’s Point.”
Zen pocketed the card. “Okay then.”
“So, hang on a sec.” Zan said. “Weren’t we going to find other people first?”
“I think the four of us will suffice.” James said.
“And if I happen to run into anyone, I’ll point them your way.” Zen added.
“Then I suppose there’s no more need for us to wait around here.” James suggested.
“You gonna get something to eat first?” Colton asked.
“I’ll get my food to go.” James responded and went to the counter.
“Alright then, back to the van.” Zen get up and led the way out of the restaurant.
Before long the crew was back on the highway and headed to Alliance. It was almost midday by now, and there was a little bit more traffic on the roads. Zen glanced upwards for a moment, observing the almost clear blue skies. Today they almost seemed to be a purer blue than normal, but Zen didn’t pay it much attention. The interchange came up and Zen took the exit that would lead them to their proper destination.
“Just how far away is Alliance, anyway?” Kevin asked.
“Alliance is about an hour’s drive from here at reasonable speeds.” James replied.
“With Harmony’s Point being about the same distance in the other direction, we should get there by midafternoon.” Twilight said to Zen.
“Cool.” Zen said and got up to speed. In actuality, most rural highways in Haven didn’t have official speed limits, only a suggestion for private vehicles and the text ‘Drive Safe’ underneath. Commercial transportation had a mandatory limit they had to follow at all times. As it were, Zen was in control of a large vehicle packed with people and ponies, so he drove at what he felt was a safe speed without being excessively slow. He was just thankful that most rural highways were mostly straight and that the one they were traveling on was rarely used.
As they rolled on across the road, Zen listened to the several conversations going on between those in the back. Kevin, James, and Colton were playing mind puzzles with each other to pass the time, and Twilight and Rainbow had started catching up some more. Zan remained mostly quiet, observing the scenery as it passed. Like with Junction Park, the scenery here was mostly wooded, though not quite as dense, and neatly maintained at a distance of roughly twenty feet from the highway. As they drove, Zen noticed that to the right the landscape was gently rising.
“So what do you expect to find in Haven University?” Zan asked Zen.
“I’m not sure.” Zen replied. “Twilight thinks that maybe what she knows can help them build another machine like the one back on Earth; one that can link Earth, Haven, and Equestria together. Then maybe we could do things properly this time, and use Haven as a sort of middle ground between the two. But that’s a long shot, not even guaranteed that it’ll work. If nothing else, I’d like to at least get a better understand of just what happened when we first arrived here.”
“I see. I wish you luck, because it sounds like you’re gonna need it.” Zan said.
“Thanks.” Zen stared down the relatively straight highway for a few moments. “You know, I’ve never actually been to Harmony’s Point.”
“No?” Zan sounded somewhat surprised. “I would have imagined that you would have been all over the place by now.”
“You know, I would have expected that too.” Zen nodded with a small smile. “But I guess I just never had a reason to leave Crystal City, even after being there for so long. I was, and still am, content there; Crystal City is everything I would have ever wanted in a home. It just never really crossed my mind to go somewhere else for a change.”
“Which is really odd for you because back home you’d always jump at the chance to go somewhere.”
“Yeah, I guess that is pretty odd isn’t it?”
Just then they passed a sign that read “Alliance: 15”.
“Guess we’re making pretty good time.” Zen commented as the sign passed. “We’ve only been on the road for maybe half an hour.”
By now everyone except Zen was in on the mind puzzlers, and they were all having a great time with it. Unsurprisingly Twilight was able to figure them out with ease, but Kevin was also pretty sharp and was giving her some tough puzzlers; a challenge she gladly accepted.
More time passed, and it occurred to Zen than they were now in a rather large valley with a river running next to the highway. On the other side was a line of short cliffs. Up ahead he could see what looked like the town of Alliance, but there was something on the road blocking the entrance.
“Hey James!” Zen called back.
“Yes?” James responded.
“What’s that on the road?”
James carefully made his way up to the front of the van and peered over the two front seats. “Looks like a road block.” He said. “That wasn’t up when I left.”
“Hmm.” Zen began to slow down and pulled to a stop in front of the road block, which consisted of several large traffic barrels and a standard ‘Do Not Enter’ sign. The crew was approached by a grey earth pony with a black mane, who got up on a small platform to be level with the van. Zen rolled down the window.
“Please state your business.” The earth pony said gruffly, but not unkind.
“We’re here on business pertaining to the unrest.” Zen replied.
“Do you have proof?” The pony asked, producing a clip board from his saddlebags.
“Check with the town officials.” James said. “My name is James and they sent me to find these people to help deal with the dissenters.”
“Hmm…” The stallion checked the clipboard for a moment. “Stay here, do not enter the town.” He said and walked back to a booth just beyond the barrels.
“Shit musta got real if they’ve got the highway blocked off.” Zan said.
“No kidding.” James said.
They waited there for several minutes before the stallion came back and gave them clearance.
“You are to meet the town council at city hall. Have a good day, and good luck.” The stallion gave a small salute, which Zen returned as he maneuvered around the barrels.
Despite being several times larger than Junction Park, Alliance seemed pretty empty, even at this time of day. There were various stores and restaurants that lined the road into the town core, but most of the parking lots were empty, and the businesses all appeared to be closed. For Zen and company it was slightly unsettling, and James seemed to be especially nervous.
“I’ve never seen Alliance this barren before.” He commented. “I wonder what happened.”
“I reckon we’re about to find out.” Zen replied and followed James’ directions to the city hall.
When they got to the city hall, the first thing everyone noticed was the large crowd gathered outside. The street looked like it had been turned into a warzone; debris and trash covered the pavement. The city hall itself had been boarded up.
“This isn’t good.” Zan commented.
Zen pulled into a lot a few structures down from the city hall. “Good luck you guys.” He said, putting the van into park.
“You too Zen.” Zan said as he got out and opened the sliding door for everyone else. Twilight and Dash both got out and stretched.
“Not used to being cramped up in a vehicle like this?” Zan asked.
“No, not really.” Twilight responded.
“Heh, I can only imagine how uncomfortable that must have been.” Kevin remarked.
“It actually wasn’t that uncomfortable.” Rainbow said. “Just the inability to really stretch can make ya feel stiff.” She flexed her wings to their fullest length several times before folding them back up against her body. “Though to be fair those things aren’t exactly built for ponies.”
“True.” Zan looked back at the large crowd. “Well guys, guess we better get going.”
“Good luck.” Twilight said and waved them goodbye as Zan, Kevin, James, and Colton took off.
Rainbow climbed back into the van and took her spot in the second row seats. Twilight was about to climb in after but paused. “Do you mind if I ride in the front?” She asked Zen.
“If you can make yourself comfortable enough.” Zen replied and Twilight shut the sliding door. She jumped up into the shotgun seat and sat there, rear legs hanging over the edge of the seat, back up against the back of the seat. Zen eyed the peculiar sight for a moment. “That’s not uncomfortable?” He asked.
“It’s odd, yes, but not particularly discomforting.” Twilight responded and magically buckled herself in.
Zen blinked and stared for a moment longer. “If you say so.” He said before putting the van into reverse and backing out into the street.
As they drove off he could see his friends vanish into the crowd, wondering what had happened in this town.
Rainbow echoed Zen’s thoughts with a guess of her own. “Maybe whoever started this mess got tired of waiting and they attacked the town?”
“It’s possible.” Zen said, pulling back onto the highway.
“I hope that nopony was injured.” Twilight said.
“Yeah…” Zen’s voice trailed off.
They sped along the highway in relative silence. They managed to make it back to the interchange before Junction Park within forty minutes, but this time they took the third branch of the highway towards Harmony’s Point.
“So what’s the plan for after we get to this place?” Rainbow asked.
“First we need to get to Haven University.” Twilight said. “Once we get there, I’m going to go find the science department and try and locate my former colleagues to see if we can meet sometime tomorrow to discuss everything.”
“Well if we’re not doing anything important today I just might go for a little bit of sight-seeing.” Zen said. “What about you, Rainbow?”
“I dunno yet.” The pegasus said. “Might go sight-seeing with you, might go wandering on my own.”
“Okay, then we can all find a place to meet for dinner and then go hunting for a place to stay.” Twilight suggested.
“Sure thing.” Zen said. “Got any particular place in mind for meeting up before dinner?”
“The front entrance to the Administration building should do.” Twilight said.
“Cool, then that’s what we’ll do.”