//------------------------------//
// The Departure 
// Story: Music, Muscle, and the Multiverse 
// by themultiversewatcher 
//------------------------------//

Rose
I wake up with a start. How long have I been out? It can't have been more than an hour. Without looking, I reach down to pull out my phone, only to realize that I wasn't reaching anything. Then I remember that I am wearing a dress without pockets. I rise up off the couch, and the first thing I run into is the pegasus at my feet. How nice.
Wait, what? First, those don't exist. Second, it looks kind of like Lightning Dust from MLP. Third, this isn't even my house. Its the Cameron's. Then, I remember what I saw before I fell unconscious. In the place of my friends, two human-like ponies, one amber, the other teal.
I turn slowly around. There, in the kitchen, on a cloud, is another pony. I notice the wings. I could have sworn the other pony was a normal pony. Then again, I was in a panic and wasn't thinking straight. I stumble over into the kitchen, ready for anything. I suddenly hear the sound of yawning behind me. I slowly turn, and find myself face to face with the pony on the cloud.
"Hey," he says, "How are you feeling?"
I scream. The strange creature puts his hooves around me.
"Shh, its okay. Please don't scream."
I stop. Something in his voice is commanding, but in a soft spoken sort of way. I realize that this method sounds familiar, like an old friend. Like Sean. I look at him strangely.
"Sean?" I ask
"Yeah, that was me. My name is apparently Treble now. Anyways, again, how are you feeling? You look different, kind of like what we looked like yesterday."
I look down at the ground. I suddenly notice all the things that have changed form yesterday. I have hooves, a tail, a mane, fur, and everything. The fur is a soft cream color. The mane and tail are a rosy pink color. I run towards the bathroom in the entrance hall. When I turn on the light, I see pony ears on the top of my head.
I start hyperventilating. This can't be happening! I have a life! I have to run the store today! Oh, no! The store! I run out of the bathroom to look at the clock. 10:00. I should be at the store right now. Oh, God, no. Treble, as he insisted I start calling him, looks at me with genuine concern. He gets off his cloud, giving it a kick to disintegrate it. He lands next to me and I lean down to hug him. His fur is really soft, and I run my hand over the downy feathers at his sides. I start to cry. I had a life, and now I can't ever see any of my other friends ever again. I had wanted to go around the world, studying all sorts of beautiful and rare flowers. Now, I am stuck turning into a pony. This has got to be the worst birthday in the world.
"Hey, Rose," says Treble, "Breathe into this paper bag. It'll help you calm down."
He hands, or hoofs, me the bag, which I take. Or at least fumble with. I don't know why, but its hard to hold things anymore. Eventually, I get the hang of it. I breathe into the bag, finally getting my breathing under control. So many things have happened while I was unconscious, and its a little overwhelming.
"Better," the stallion says, "Now, what do you want to do when you're done with the change? Lightning and I have discussed leaving as soon as its over. According to a news report, there is one more pony we have to meet before we search for a way to revert. They are apparently in East Hartford at the moment."
I realize that I haven't thought about the end to the changes. If Treble thinks we should pursue this other pony, then I am at his side.
"Yeah," I say, "I think...I think I'd like to go. That is, only if you are."
"Great."
Just then, another yawn sounds. From behind the couch, Lightning pops her head up.
"Good m'rning," she says, a little groggy from having just woke up. She yawns again. "So, when do we leave?"
"Well," says Treble, "The transformation finished around three yesterday, and I think that staying here any longer is just a disaster waiting to happen, that's when we leave."
Lightning just nods. She gets up and walks to the cereal cabinet. She pulls out Honey Bunches of Oats in her mouth.
"Hey, Rose," she says, "Could you reach up and grab me a bowl from the upper cabinet?"
I comply, reaching up into the dishes cabinet and grabbing three bowls. She pours some into each one and we begin to eat. The flavors just burst in my mouth, as though there was nothing better tasting in the world. I let out a content sigh. I decide to look on the bright side of things, and maybe the change isn't so bad. At least I don't have to worry about not having anything to eat on the road.
We finish eating. By this time, I look like what Treble and Lightning looked like yesterday. We turn on the TV, hoping to catch a little bit of news before the change is complete. Unfortunately, the only things on are soap operas (I am still amazed that most of these are still around), and I really don't feel like watching soap operas.
"Hey," Treble says, "We may need food along the way. I know we can eat plants along the way, but we don't know which ones are edible for equines. We also could use medical equipment for cuts and scrapes and stuff. I have several first aid kits around the house from my days as a Boy Scout. Now, we need something to carry all this stuff with us. Any ideas?"
"I remember we have saddlebags in the basement from when I took horseback riding lessons," puts in Lightning, "Rose, do you think you could go down and get them?"
"Sure," I say.
I open the basement door and head downstairs. While on the way down, my body becomes unsteady and I fall forwards onto my new hooves. Unfortunately, it happens on the stairs, and I start tumbling down. I hit the wall and feel a slight pain, thanking my sturdy new body for keeping me from serious injury. I get up and shake my head to rid myself of the dizziness.
The Cameron's basement. It is an unfinished area (Treble's father had started to work on it, but had never gotten past the insulation stage). As you walk underneath the stairs, you can see all the winter equipment. Past that is Lightning's winter work-out area. All sorts of exercise machines were set up in the cavernous space. After you leave that, there is the basement door. Next to the door is the heating equipment for the house. On the other side of it is Treble's and Lightning's bikes. I believe they are Giant Defy 3's. With the bikes and the concerned gear is a large shelf that houses miscellaneous types of equipment. I find the saddlebags conveniently lying on the floor underneath it. I thank God that they are where I can reach them instead of the out-of-my-reach shelf.
I head back the way I came. Once back on the top floor, I find Treble and Lightning looking at me expectantly. I let the saddlebags slide off my back onto the floor. Next to the two of them are supplies for a few days. Apparently, they are expecting to be gone for quite a while. We place the supplies into our bags and sling them onto our backs. Alright, its three o'clock. Time to leave.

















Treble
Its sad to leave this house. Lightning and I grew up here, and now its going to be abandoned. How will my parents react when they find out their children are gone. They'll probably think we were kidnapped. Thinking of this, I quickly grab a piece of paper from the printer and write down a message that reads: Dear Mom and Dad, I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I feel you should know what happened. Sara and I are turning into ponies and must leave, possibly for good. I do not know how its happening, nor do I know why. I know this seems impossible, but its true. Just know that we have always loved you and always will. Please do not come looking for us, for it will only bring you pain. If I can ever find a way to see you again, I will tell you the story. Your loving son, Sean.
I read the letter over again, making sure its at least legible. I fly up to the cabinet that holds the envelopes and stamps. I put the makeshift letter into an envelope, write the address of the house and the condo. I wipe a tear from my eye. I don't want to leave this way, but its impossible to stay. Writing that letter was the hardest thing I have ever done.
We leave the house through the front door. Rose wants to grab a few flowers as food for our long trip. As we go to her house, I stop by the mailbox, put the letter in and raise the flag. By this time, Rose and Dusty (I like that nickname, its easier to write than Lightning) have returned with the plants in Rose's saddlebags. We head into the back yard of the house, taking one last long look at the place of our birth, and enter the woods with heavy hearts. I decide to sing a song, namely Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day.
Singing has always helped. By the end of the song, I am feeling the sadness of our problem. The woods are creepily silent. There are no birds chirping or insects noisily buzzing. The sky is overcast and looks like it could rain any minute. I get a bad feeling that we are being followed. Sure enough, I hear a twig snap close by.
"Get behind me," I whisper.
Out of the foliage comes a deer, which seems startled to see us.
"Its just a deer," says Dusty, with annoyance clear in her voice.
The deer just turns slowly and walks away. I breathe a sigh of relief. A while ago, there was a fisher cat in the woods behind our house. It killed my dog, who was going to die of old age anyway. Anyways, we continue walking through the quiet forest. None of us say a word. After what feels like forever, we come across the first road, Route 74. Normally a busy road, it seems pretty deserted. We cross the road with no trouble at all. We start following the road North. We pass by the police barracks and several driveways. Eventually, we reach Old Cathole Road, where the middle school is located. Unfortunately for us, the area opens up into a rural setting. Being careful, we follow the road up to a relatively covered area. We cross the road and follow the rear of the school. We reach the woods at the end of the sports field. By this time, its getting dark. We decide to set up camp.
"Hey, Dusty," I say, "Could you fly up and scout out the area ahead of us?"
"Sure," she says, and flies away, leaving me alone with Rose.
"So, how far are we planning on going?" Rose asks.
"I don't know," I reply, "but its been pretty slow going."
Rose yawns, prompting me to do the same. She lies down and curls up. Pulling out three flowers, she beckons me to eat one. I comply, knowing that I needed to eat. As I lie down, I hear a quiet hissing noise. Looking down, I see that my foreleg has opened up somehow, revealing a computer-like device. On the keyboard, I see a bunch of symbols that mean nothing to me. Hovering above it is what looks like a screen.
"What's that?" asks Rose, surprisingly calmly, considering.
"I have no idea," I say, "It looks like a computer of some sort, but I can't make heads or tails of it."	
I wrack my brain for ideas. Slowly, I see a faint image of someone typing in a command using their wings. I realize that that someone is me. I copy the movement, causing what seems like a sonar system to appear. Around us, I see tiny hole-like things. A slight nagging in the back of my mind tells me that its important to our quest, but I ignore it. I see a small track around the sides, and I grab onto the fur at the top with my teeth. I pull the fur, and with another hissing noise, the computer disappears into my foreleg again.
"Well, that was weird," I say, confused.
As we finish our meal, Dusty touches down next to us.
"We are close to the shopping plazas," she reports, "We have to cross the highway first, so we need to be careful of the traffic to make sure we aren't seen or run over. I figure that it would be better to wait for awhile. It would be better for us to travel at night, when less people will be awake. So, I say that we should take a short rest, sleep if you can. One of us must stay awake in order to watch for danger. I volunteer to do just that. You two get some sleep."
With that, she turns around. Rose and I look at each other. Since its still cold, we lie down together, with my body wrapped around Rose's. Soon enough, we are both asleep with smiles on our faces.