It couldn't wait.
I had done hours of research on the subject, constructed time tables depicting canon and theoretical times that this could possibly happen. I had mapped out all the possible locations I could find, and I had evaluated all of the information I had been presented with to the fullest extent. I knew I could have been wrong, and I knew that if I was, I wasn't going to just give up. I had already missed my chance two-and-a-half years ago due to ignorance, and I wasn't waiting any longer.
There were many setbacks. The biggest impedance was my inability to drive, but what I lacked in skill, I more than made up for in support. My friends and my family had almost no idea why I would schedule a trip to one of the most boring places in the world in the most random of times. It only seemed random to them, but I knew my deadlines. All my life I had deadlines, and my constant war with time had only increased my awareness with them. I had to pull quite a few strings (by pull I mean pay, and by strings I mean good old-fashioned American dollars) to get my old friend to take me to my new residence. I affectionately referred to my friend as "Moonbutt" on occasion, before getting so far into fanficion that using such pet names was no longer funny.
I talked about the life in which I immersed myself to almost no end. My friends were no doubt annoyed to the point where they would avoid conversation with me. It's not like I minded the lack of companionship. At least I had my hobbies to keep me company. I eventually reached the peak of my entertainment rituals and calmed down about them a bit, at least in public, which is what leads me to where I am now.
I was on my way to what I called "the quantum mirror", or "the dimensional bridge", and sometimes "the subspace highway". I never used the term I was given for the portal because no real person would hear a word of it, and they certainly wouldn't have driven me more than 500 miles on a fool's errand. I told Moonbutt that I needed a ride to my new place, and that my rides would be taken care of from there. She could stay a night if she wanted, but it wasn't going to be a long trip, and if she wanted to go home immediately she could make it back before dark. I made sure to leave early just for that reason. I didn't want to leave my friend alone in an unfamiliar place when I finally decided to disappear.
I told everyone I was getting a job out of town, and in all honesty, I already had. Little did they know that the job I was offered was not one with an actual office. I could work online designing computers, programs, software, and occasionally games... or something like that, all from home. I couldn't care less what I was supposed to be doing because what I had planned didn't even involve being on Earth at all. That "quantum mirror" that I had promised to show to my friends if I ever found it, was actually a portal to another universe. Specifically, the universe in question was one that ran parallel to our own, and on the other side of the portal was Equestria, or so I hoped.
My mindless research had lead me to a definite location of where the portal was located, and when the portal would be open. I tracked the times it could have been open before, and logged a few unusual events that were tied to the magic seeping through from the other world. As it turned out, very strange things happen near doorways to other worlds.
So we rode along the highway with mild traffic due to it only being 10:00 and we couldn't have been less calm. We were blasting our music and singing along to the girliest songs we could find with the windows down and the cars around us quickly changing lanes to avoid us. Life was great, but eventually our voices were tired and we had to calm it down a bit. We rode in moderate silence for a few hours until finally the questions came.
"So what's your new job again?"
"It's still a secret, but I guess I can tell you. I'm proofing work for some eggheads in a laboratory."
"What kind of work?"
"Physics," I lied.
She made a disgusted look and pressed, "I thought you hated complicated work like that?"
"I do, unless physics can get me off of this planet."
"So where's the lab? Do you even know where we're going?"
Silence
"You have got to be kidding me, do you really not know where you're going?" She was fuming at this point, and began speeding up subconsciously.
I knew she would react like that, but I didn't want to drop the act too early without having a little fun. We had been driving for four of our estimated eight hours of travel time and I didn't want to leave us with nothing to talk about halfway through. I let off a little and chuckled, "Don't get your panties in a twist, I really was joking this time. I looked at the maps before we left, and I made sure I knew exactly what the place looked like. I even got a virtual tour of my new room! I just love the internet," I mused with the most sultry voice I could muster. It had been no secret that I was more interested in fictional lives online than my own real life. That was soon to change.
I really did see the map of where I was supposed to be going, and I made damn sure I wouldn't get lost when so pressed for time as I was. I was obsessed with this and I couldn't contain my excitement, but I also showed plenty of fear. If this didn't work, than I would be stuck with not only a boring job, but also a life that I would continue to hate, and would be forced into my escapist behaviors in and out of the privacy of my own home. I would become one of those people who never had a social life, and would go out wearing ridiculous clothing and getting pissed when people judged me for it. I knew the path I was walking, but I also knew that if I succeeded, I would be in a world without worry.
The next few hours were filled with talk about season 5 of MLP and how I thought it should have ended. I only teased a little bit that Discord should have turned again, but in the end I knew that would never happen. When we finally got to my apartment building in Muscatine, I showed Moonbutt around and asked her opinion.
"It's a shithole, why did you bring me here? I thought you hated places like this!"
"Don't worry miss priss, we're not staying here. Now it's my turn to do the driving."
I opened the old cot I brought with me and threw my duffel bag underneath. Moonbutt promptly collapsed on it before whining, "Do we have to leave? I don't even want to move."
"Yes, I have something to show you. I didn't just beg for a ride, I could have taken a taxi or a bunch of busses, though that would have been a lot more time consuming. I wanted you here for a reason. Do you remember when I asked you to read that story I kept gushing about?"
"I'll get to it, I promise!"
"Too late, you're about to live the end of it. You know how I love spoiling these things."
"What?"
"I found it."
"You found what?"
"Well technically, TwistedSpectrum found it, but I don't know how. I had to sift through a lot of crap to come to a conclusion I'm sure he made up, unless his canon is right. In that case, we're boned."
"English."
"No, Equestrian. Seriously, I told you to read that for a reason. Let's go," I demanded as I yanked her off of my makeshift bed and pulled her towards the door.
When I finally convinced her that we were in fact, going for a walk, we made our way through town until I found a clearing in the woods I was looking for. We got turned around a few times, but we needed to move around anyway after being in a car for so long. We walked along a path until we could hear running water and we then followed the sound to the banks of a large river. Further down the shore, I spotted the boat rental place that was mentioned in my favorite work of fiction all the while trying to explain the situation to my friend. She didn't want to hear any of it as I passed my credit card through the machine to unlock my vessel. I couldn't have been bothered with details at that point and was quickly on the water after much more persuasion techniques to get Moonbutt to "just play along."
I took us down the river, hoping to all that was holy that I was going in the right direction, even though I was convinced that downstream meant downstream regardless of who said it, and eventually a beautiful port city opened up overhead.
"We couldn't have just stopped here in the first place?"
"Where's your sense of adventure? Besides, you're still on the clock. No more complaints, just, " I looked for the word, and finally resigned myself to redundancy, "adventure."
*ugh* "Fine."
The rest of our trek went smoothly as I had actually studied this particular part of my map more carefully than the rest. We arrived at an old failed community college that seemed abandoned up until we showed up. We snuck around the building looking for an entrance as Moonbutt's mood finally picked up. I almost squee'd when she finally seemed to start understanding what I had been trying to explain the whole trip. As soon as she found a weakness in the fence and crawled under it, she asked, "So you actually looked up the school where it took place?"
"You could say that. There were quite a few flaws with pretty much every depiction though. For one, I'm pretty sure this was never a high school, and I'm also fairly certain that that statue was less public than they made it seem. But one thing was right: Did you notice all of the horse gear outside?"
"Yeah, was this school's mascot really a Wondercolt?"
"Hell no, but I would have voted for it if I had the chance," I blurted as we wandered around the grounds some more.
"So then what are we looking for?"
"Probably exactly what you'd expect," I continued as we stepped foot onto the actual school grounds away from the construction lot. The front of the proper school grounds were publicly visible, so we had to sneak in through the back to avoid catching too much attention. It was rush hour by then (much later than I thought it would be) and I didn't need anyone asking questions or saying they saw me around town right before I disappeared. I especially didn't want my friend getting in trouble, or suspected of my murder.
"So, Roosevelt?"
*facepalm*
"Yeah, sure, whatever you want to call it. Actually, what we're looking for is probably over there," I pointed towards a building with tinted windows and an indoor pool.
"Why would they," she paused, "never mind."
There was no easy way to sneak into a locked building, and breaking things was tasteless. Luckily, part of my research involved lock picking, and disabling security systems. Hopefully the latter wouldn't be useful here because of the age of the structure. Getting through the door was no easy matter, but it was nothing compared to navigating the structure looking for a room big enough to house a horse statue on a pedestal. The air was stale and the dust on the floors sent me sliding and actually making me fall on my ass a few times before getting my balance, and we finally came to the gym.
"Celestia."
"That's not my name."
"No. Look Wes. It's actually Celestia."
I peered in through the cracked door she held open and literally screamed at what I saw. It wasn't a cry of agony, nor fear. Pure adrenaline pumped through my veins at what I saw. Right in center court, a statue of Princess Celestia on a gaudy pedestal stood proud with her front right hoof thrust into the air in a victorious pose. It was covered in graffiti and grey from its layer of dust, and a sign above her that read: "CLASS OF '94."
"Dear Goddess, she's here," my voice cracked as I dropped to my knees in tears of joy that my mission was successful. I hadn't felt so accomplished in my entire life as here Celestia stood before me in the middle of what would now be holy ground as what was apparently the legacy of the class of 1994.
Moonbutt lifted my shivering body and attempted to steady me, only to be glomped as I lost my sanity over her shoulder. I hadn't even confirmed the time that the door would be open, but the fact that the statue's rear had a giant sun stamped on it pretty much confirmed my dream.
"Calm down, it's just a statue. If I had known you were this hard over art, I would have sent you some. I mean, I've seen better."
"Do you even know what you're saying?" My voice betrayed my serious tone as I stepped back and instantly sprinted to the stone. As I neared the pedestal, I didn't slow at all and opted to pick up speed. When I got close enough, I leapt into the side with my arms above my head in case I was wrong. I didn't want to waste any more time getting there, and I had already said my goodbyes to Earth in my own way.