//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Passports Won't Cover Universe Jumping // by ROM //------------------------------// The group of eight sat in a semi-circle on benches near the trail entrance, conversations starting and ending awkwardly here or there while a few stayed silent, staring ahead. James, a tall and bulky man, sat with his back hunched as he leaned slightly forward, awkwardly staring at his hands once more after his gaze locked with Reuben’s, who sat at the opposite end of the benches.   As the two broke eye contact for the fifth time, James pushed himself to his feet and swatted at a mosquito on his neck, declaring sadly, “It’s about time we get this trip started. There’s not much we can do about those that canceled.” Reuben stood as well, stretching his arms and letting them linger in the air above his head for a moment, staring at the view around him, and taking in the familiar view of the faded green patches of brush and massive amounts of lone cacti spread throughout mountain range. When he had agreed to finally meet up with his online pals, the writers of an old failed pony fanfiction collaboration, he never imagined they’d actually show up, let alone agree to go through a hike in the desert wilderness. But after a day in a stuffy hotel, there was no where else he’d rather be. He looked away from the view, down to his side to his girlfriend, in his eyes a more beautiful view. “A’ight, let’s get going Hana.” Hana stood as well, her skin turning a darker shade of caramel in the heat of the sun and the wind blowing her black wavy hair about. “Yay, finally! A little adventure!” she said, smiling to the group around her. “This is gonna be great, guys.” “Totally,” said Taylor with a smile. His thin hoodie, hugging his slender frame, was admittedly too clean for a rugged hike in the dusty desert mountain, and very little could be packed in the pockets of the skinny jeans tight against his thighs. Brushing his rainbow hair out of his face and smoothing out his v-neck, Taylor stood and made his way to James, stepping lightly to avoid dusting his shoes. Needless to say, he wasn’t the hiking sort of guy. “Hiking is, like, the best.” Joshua frantically checked his bag one more time, nervously counting off the supplies in a pack that was obviously too big. He tottered slightly as he piled it on his back, rocking on his heels beneath its weight despite his heavy frame. “I’m going to try and imitate your movements Reuben, since you’ve got some mountain climbing practice.” Reuben wiped the sweat off his forehead, furrowing his brow. “We’re not climbing any rock shelfs, we’re walking up a mountain on a trail. Can you put one foot in front of the other? If so, you’re a natural.” Stephen, to the left of Joshua, took a swig of his canteen and shook his head. “It’s a good thing too. I shan't bore you with the numbers, but we'll be rather high up once at the peak. Quite a tumble, if you ask me,” the Brit said, staring at the mountaintop with wide eyes. Standing nearby, Edvarts nodded in agreement, picking up his pack and flexing his strong arms as his shirt squeezed his toned torso tightly. “It’s definitely not a fall I want to take,” he said in a strong Latvian accent, flicking his hair back and shaking his dirty blonde bangs from his forehead, revealing a face fit for a model. Adjusting his glasses to shift the glare of the sun off his ice-blue eyes, he stepped to the front of the group and looked back, waiting for the others to get started. Taylor whistled at Ed with a wink. “Dios, James, did you see Ed!? I can see why he is a successful actor,” he said, taking a headphone out of his ear and grinning. James shrugged in response, adjusting his pack on his shoulders and staring at his hunting knife. “I guess.” Basking in the awkwardness for a second, Taylor smiled brightly before asking, "Hmm, so what do you have in mind for this trip? What kinds of stuff are you going to do while you're here?" I'm gonna kill something. I'm gonna eat it. And I'm gonna take what trophy worthy piece of it remains home.” James said plainly, looking Taylor in the eye. Taylor’s smile shrunk away. "Whoa, hey, that's morbid! Er, what if we tried to take a more nature friendly approach to this trip? Please?" he said hastily. “I've been doing this for years. I'm not stopping because you feel like whining over it. You don't even like nature. All you've done is bitch about the dirt the whole way here, so why do give a damn? "Ah, actually, I haven't once said a word about being unhappy about the trip! The outdoors kind of just ... aren't my thing. I love animals, and I would not, under any circumstance, condone to unnecessary torture or killing!" shouted Taylor, pushing his face close to James’. James pushed Taylor back, sighing. “Remember how I told you to stay out of my way?” he said quietly. Ignoring him, Taylor pushed his face close to James’s face again. “Remember when I tried to have a conversation with you!? I'm going to stop you!”  Pushing back more aggressively this time, James grimaced. “You wanna try? Be my guest.See how well it goes.” Reuben places a hand on Taylor’s shoulder, “It’s not worth it, man,” he said, trying to just get the trip started. Taylor closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting out a groan, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone, while fidgeting with the piercing on his brow.. After a moment of furiously tapping at the screen he put it back in his pocket with a frown. “Remember, I promised you I’d get you the number of that cute bag-boy if you tagged along,” said Hana, smiling sympathetically at Taylor. “Oh yeah. Yummy.” Connlaoi swatted at the many bugs floating around his head as he raised his deceptively tone figure from the rickety benches with a creak, before asking, “So, did anyone give you guys advanced notice that they weren’t showing up? I haven’t gotten any responses from the rest of them.”  The group glanced at one another for a moment, shrugging shoulders and shaking their heads. Taylor pulled out his phone one last time, attempting to flit through it again, “A few, but communication has been scarce.” Reuben shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, looking around in silence. After a couple minutes of silence, Taylor tossed and twirled his phone in the air from his left hand to his right before deftly sliding it into his tight pocket and leaping to his feet. “It was such fun meeting some of the guys for the first time, right?” “Sure, I guess. I was never really that close to any of you guys in the first place, I just came to get away from the hellspawn that are my sisters. I have to admit, James had me shitting bricks, though. He’s got that fucking Pinkamena look going on,” Joshua muttered, shivering at his last observation, “It’s those eyes. I thought he was going to go all Cupcakes on at least one of us.” “I thought James just had odd fetishes. He also glared a lot,” Reuben interjected, as James glared at him, flipping the bird in his direction. “I’m just glad Tyler never came.” Reuben continued. “I would have turned the car around and drove straight home if I saw his stupid, pudgy, face.” “But yeah, it’s too bad so many of us didn’t come.” Taylor said. “I was able to contact everyone except Morgan, pero ustedes vinieron sin ellos! It surprised me to learn that I was the only one who actually kept contact con ustedes after we cancelled the collaboration.” “Taylor, if you get to speak Spanish, I can go Japanese on yo’ ass,” Reuben warned. Hana tugged on Reubens wrist. “No… just don’t. I can’t handle the weeb,” she said, shaking her head. “So it’s safe to say we’re going to get going soon, right?” Joshua asked openly after gathering the will to speak openly again. “Yeah,” a few say in unison. With a sigh, Reuben took the lead, and the rest of the group followed, heading up the main trail. “Don’t let my big stomach fool you, I’ve hiked up this mountain plenty growing up, I can even take you guys around to some of the old forgotten tourist traps.” Reuben said confidently as he took big strides up the trampled path. Stephen stared straight ahead. “Personally, I'm just looking forward to the view up top. Do hope we didn't wait too long for the no shows. The view will be much better in daylight.” He made his way ahead of the group, marching onwards while staring at his watch. “God damnit!” Connlaoi shouted, kneeling to the ground and gripping his groin through his cargo shorts, a noticeably larger cloud of insects buzzing around him. “You alright man? We can head back if you need to,” Taylor says hopefully.  Connlaoi climbed to his feet, pulling a sweat bee from within his shorts. “I’m good, I can keep going, just wondering how they got in there. These bugs are ridiculous.” He reassured the concerned members of the group with a faint smile. “Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,” Hana winced. “You sure you’re alright, Ca—” “Shhh…” James held out a hand, staring past the trail into the thorny bushes below. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he kept from blinking, keeping eye contact with the green expanse. “What are you—” Hana starts again, but James shushed her once more, pulling out a thin black throwing knife. “Rabbit,” he muttered, pointing at a cottontail hopping below with one hand and preparing to release the knife with the other. Taylor jumped in front of James. “NO YOU CAN’T HARM THIS POOR CREATURE!” he shouted, flailing his arms about, alerting the fluffy creature, and gave a sigh of relief when it hopped off.         James pushed him aside, walking off the trail and wading through the tough brush. “Damnit Taylor, I'll harm whatever I damn well please!”         “No! Stop!” Taylor chased after James, stepping around any plants in his way. “There’s no reason to hurt anything here!”         “Maybe we should stick to where we can see our feet.” Reuben shouted cautiously. “Snakes hang out in these bushes this time of year!”         Hana giggled, relishing the excitement. “Who knows? It might be fun. We know these mountains well enough, we probably won’t get lost if we wonder from the trail a bit.” She followed James and Taylor, pulling her hair back into a ponytail before climbing atop a rock above the bushes and turning towards the group. “Just watch your step, guys! Don’t step anywhere you’d like to be if you were venomous and scaley! Looks like we’re taking a detour!”         Joshua and Connlaoi joined the madness, hopping off the trail with cheeky grins, as Stephen returned to the group, “What’s taking you guys? I’ve been up that hill for about a minute, and—”         “ADVENTURE! That’s what’s taking us!” said Hana, raising a fist above her head. “Come partake in some with us!” “Yeah, get with the program” Josh said with newfound confidence, trotting along. Reuben groaned loudly. “Yeah, adventure…” he said unexcitedly, doing weak jazz-hands as he followed the chaotic creatures, muttering something under his breath about their untimely deaths.         James came to a sudden stop, putting his arm out to prevent Taylor from taking another step. “Slow your roll,” he muttered quietly. “And look at how nature works.”         Taylor lept back once he realized the threat, his burst of bravery in the wilderness escaping him. He stared in stunned silence at the snake in front of him as it pulled itself from around a dead cottontail rabbit. Close behind them, Hana stumbled, looking down to see her foot caught in a small hole. Trying to play it off she silently struggled to remove her foot from the hole. Reuben noticing her strife, rushed to her aid. “I gotchu babe,” he sang lowly, to save her the embarrassment.          “Get a room, lovebirds,” Ed said with a laugh. Hana laughed along as she stepped away from the hole, approaching Taylor to pat him on the shoulder as he looked around atop a rock around, stammering an apology to James and searching for more deadly snakes. On the way, however, she stopped dead in her tracks, staring to the left. “Hey guys? What’s that?” she asked out loud, pointing in the distance and shielding her brown eyes from the sun's glare. “What’s what?” asked James, amidst considering settling on a black headed snake skin over the rabbit pelt. Hana was already moving, walking as though in a trance towards a nearby rock shelf. “That. Over there.” Reuben and Stephen followed Hana closely. “What’s wrong, Hanners?” Reuben said, taking her hand into his. Continuing to move, Hana muttered,“There’s a light by that cliff. See it?” “I… yeah, I see it.” Reuben peered at the distant light, glaring from across a ridge. “It could just be broken glass or something; the rednecks from the town over come up here to drink from time to time.” “I don’t think it’s glass, babe.” Hana turned towards the rest of the group with a smile. “Come on guys, treasure hunt.” “I’m in!” shouted Taylor, already over his paranoia. He, along with the rest of the group, each shrugging and nodding in agreement, followed suit after Hana, Stephen and Reuben. Upon approaching the wall, the group gasped in a unanimous intake of breath. “That. Is one deep hole,” muttered Josh, staring into the blackened depths of the ravine they nearly walked into. Despite being only a couple feet wide, the crack in the earth in front of the wall seemed bottomless. “But look, it’s right there!” Hana pointed across the ravine against the rock wall before them. On a thin protrusion, 8 feet above the opening of the cavern, was what looked like a silvery stone, glaring in the afternoon sun. “What is that thing?” asked Taylor. “It’s so... shiny!” “I have no idea,” said Reuben. “Aluminum maybe? Or a weird quartz?” “It could be an old native arrowhead?” said James with a raised eyebrow. “Or just a tin can,” chipped Connlaoi, shrugging. Hana approached the ravine, stepping over it and onto a dip in the wall. “I think I can climb up to it.” Reuben stepped forward, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back. “No. You can’t.” “Why not?” she asked, irritated. “Where you see footholds, I see snake holes. Also, you don’t want to fall in there.” “Come on, babe. I got this. I promise not to die, ‘kay?” Hana flashed him a smile, baring the gap in her teeth. Hesitantly, he let go of her. “Alright, but be careful.” With a nod, she leaned across the ravine, pressed her foot against the wall, and took hold of the ridges in the cliff, climbing up skillfully. She lost her footing only once, but, to the sighs of relief from the group, caught her balance once more. “I see it! It’s… a necklace.” Hana looked onto the edge of the shelf, staring at the silver and blue pendant on a long linked chain. Different shades of metallic grays mixed and marbled on the surface, behind the carving of a blue crescent moon.  Reaching forward, she grabbed the pendant with deft fingers. “It’s… so pretty,” she said, turning back and smiling at the group. “Well, that was an adventure!” Suddenly, moments after enclosing the necklace in her fist, her body felt heavier, and a weight that stemmed from her arm pushed her towards the earth. Beneath her feet, the foothold she had found crumbled, and she had only a second to flash the group a look of fear before tumbling down towards the crack below. “HANA!” Reuben leaped forward without a moment’s hesitation leaning over the ravine, grabbing her hand. “I— I can’t carry you! What’s happening? What’s pulling you?!” Slowly, he started to totter over the edge. “No, you’ll go in too, you moron!” James shouted after him, lunging forward and pulling on the back of Reuben’s shirt, realizing within a second, with much confusion, that the weight was too much. Taylor grabbed James around the waist, pulling as hard as he could, only to be yanked forward by the collective weight of those who had fallen. “No!” Connlaoi grabbed Taylor’s legs as he fell, tugging and leaning back while his shoes dragged forward. Ed trailed behind, holding on to Connlaoi’s shoulders, while Stephen pulled on Ed’s. Finally, Joshua grabbed hold of Stephen, but to no avail. One by one, the group toppled over the edge of the crack in the earth. The hole they fell into tilted gradually towards the bottom, allowing them each to tumble, one by one onto the rocky slide. Hana and Reuben fell out of the slide,clutching each other’s hands. They were in a cavern with a strange glow, and the walls were a stony blue. In her hand, the pendent lost its sudden weight.. She held the necklace so tight she almost felt it squirming in her fingers. “You okay, babe?” asked Reuben. “Yeah. I promised I wouldn’t die,” muttered Hana with a wince and a grin. Quick behind them rolled James, cursing like a sailor and holding his head. Taylor, Connlaoi, Ed and Stephen collapsed on top of them in a pile, each complaining and bemoaning their various newfound scrapes, nicks and bruises. “Is everyone alright?” asked James, extremely irritated, as he looked around the room.         Everyone nodded in agreement, shaken but alive.         “Good.” James turned to Hana. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but what’s with the weight gain?”         “I’m not sure. The necklace just—”         “Whoa! What’s that?!” Taylor was pointing in the corner of the cavern, the source of the dim glow.         A rainbow blob of light shifted and curved in the corner, changing shapes and colors before the group.         “I think… I think that’s a fire rainbow,” said Stephen, astonishment clear in his voice. “I’ve only ever heard of them; they appear around 5,500 meters above the ground, and only in freezing conditions. They’re basically the reflections off ice crystals in the clouds. But… but what’s it doing here? In a cave…. underground… in a desert?”         In her hand, the pendant squirmed harder, and with a realization, Hana’s eyes grew wide. “Guys… I think it’s pulling towards—”         “Uh… guys? Where’s Josh?” muttered Connlaoi as he looked around the circular cavern.         Glancing back and forth at one another, the group crowded at the bottom of the slide. Leaning in, they heard the sounds of struggling and rustling fabric. “Josh? You there?” asked Ed, worried.         After an exasperated sigh, they heard the voice of Josh, just feet above them. “I’m stuck. The pack’s caught on something.”         “Well, take it off!” shouted James, annoyed.         “I can’t! I’m trying. I… wait…. I think I can unhook it… Got it! Get out of the way!”         But the group had no time to get out of the way. Down came Josh and his massive backpack, heavy like a rock and gaining speed. Before they knew what hit them, they were knocked back like bowling pins into the glowing blob in the corner.         Stephen was the first one through, and he felt no pain, only an extremely fast and sudden rush of air coming from the ground below him. He heard the voices of his friends around him, screaming and stammering and shouting in astonishment.         He was thousands of feet in the air, falling through the bluest sky he’d ever seen. His clothes billowed against his frame, seemingly 10 sizes larger and rippling in the wind. Surrounding him, with voices that sounded eerily similar to those of his renewed international friends, was a group of colorful ponies, each shrieking in the wind and wearing outlandishly large clothes. Staying silent, Stephen turned away from the creatures around him and looked at his hands.  They were flat and soft and adorable. They were also hooves.         “Well, would you look at that…” he muttered, and then giggled to himself. The giggles turned to laughter and the laughter turned to screams.