Reality is a Blur

by lLoveRainbowDash

Chapter Twenty-Two – Journey Abroad

Five days after Rainbow Dash went missing, inside Canterlot Castle’s throne room.

---

Twilight was slouched down as she sat on the smooth stone of the floor. On either side of her was her friends... at least what was left of them. Right before her was Princesses Celestia and Luna, both on their respective thrones. Spike was standing beside her as well, comforting her in any way he could.

“We had no luck in finding Rainbow Dash in White Tail Woods,” Luna said softly.

“Perhaps she could have made it... to the other side?” Celestia proposed, sitting up in her throne.

“You mean, you think she somehow made it to the other continent?” Luna turned around to face her sister.

“With her speed... it’s possible.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side.

Princess Luna looked back to the others, then sat down. “What my sister is saying is... Rainbow Dash could have possibly made it to Pyrathia, a country that is just across the Western Ocean from Equestria. We... aren’t on the best of terms though...”

“How can we get there?” Applejack asked, standing up.

“Well... if you were to go to Pyrathia... you would have to go by boat. We don’t have many ships to take you, but I’m sure we could figure something out...” Celestia answered.

“That’s great! When’s the ne—”

“But Fluttershy wouldn’t be allowed to go,” Celestia continued, interrupting Pinkie Pie.

“Why wouldn’t I be able to go?” Fluttershy asked.

“Southern Pyrathians do not like pegasi. I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Luna answered.

“Oh...”

“I-I don’t wanna leave Fluttershy here like that, so I’ll stay with’er,” Applejack said.

“Yeah, me too.” Pinkie stood up from her spot on the floor and stepped forward. “Rainbow Dash means a lot to me, but so do my other friends. I’d really like to go with you, Twilight, but I don’t want to leave my other friends here alone.”

“W-what about you, Rarity?” Twilight asked.

“I shouldn’t leave you alone on your journey, Twilight. I shall go with you,” she replied.

“Really?” Twilight questioned.

“Of course. My friends matter more to me than the work I have to do here. Plus, I get the chance to see the different fashions and cultures some have in uh... Pyrathia.”

“Oh, thank you, Rarity!” Twilight ran towards her and hugged her. The rest of their friends joined in. “I love you, girls.”

“We love you too,” they all responded in unison.

Just then, someone cleared their throat behind them. They turned their heads to face them.

“Aw, come here, Spike!” Rarity said, throwing her hoof out to him, to which he happily accepted.

“Well then, it’s settled. Twilight and Rarity, I will see to it that you two get to Pyrathia safely,” Luna said.

“W-wait, you’re coming with us?” Twilight asked.

“I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you two, so I’ll come with, if that’s okay with Tia,” Luna answered, looking towards her sister.

Princess Celestia smiled. “Yes, that would be fine.”

“I just hope the Southern Pyrathians haven’t been too rough with Rainbow Dash,” Luna continued.

“What do you mean, ‘rough’?” Applejack asked.

“Well... like I said, South Pyrathia doesn’t like pegasi, and they have resorted to capturing the pegasus ponies and placing them into these camps to then be sold off as slaves,” responded Princess Luna blatantly.

“Oh... b-but what about you? What about your wings?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m sure they’ll know who I am. And if they don’t, Adrius Trifer should know who I am.”

“Who is Adrius... Treefare? How’d you say it with that accent?” Pinkie asked.

Princess Celestia replied, “Adrius Trifer is a dictator who rules over North Pyrathia at the moment. He has been trying to keep his land from war, but the South became tired of his ruling, so they rebelled against him in hopes of gaining a democratic republic. Then, once they were split up, they couldn’t officially agree on land, so they were soon at war. For the South, it didn’t work out too well as Trifer attacked with full force. The North won because of pegasus ponies. The elected leader of South Pyrathia at the time, Vel Albatius, was enraged. He later passed laws that took away the rights of the pegasi of South Pyrathia."

Princess Luna brought a hoof to her mouth to keep herself from giggling. As she looked at the five before her, she saw that each of them wore a confused expression on their face.

“How do you know all of that?” Twilight asked.

“Well, there’s a book in the library that you have yet to read. I read it a while ago; I found it in the International Geography and Historical Nonfiction section,” Celestia answered.

“What is it called? I have to read it!” Twilight stepped forward.

“It’s called Incrementum Domini Pyrathia,” Celestia said.

“Incrementum Domini Pyrathia... that’s... a different language, right?” Twilight asked.

“Yes; the book is written in Trotin, so we didn’t think you’d read it,” Luna responded.

“Why is it written in Trotin? Do the Pyrathian ponies speak Trotin?”

“The book is old. It was first written back when Pyrathia spoke Trotin, but, over the years, they transitioned to Ponish,” Celestia answered.

“Why did they switch to Ponish?”

“Pyrathians believed it was more practical in the real world, especially since we in Equestria speak it,” Luna said.

“Wow... I can’t believe I only focused on one continent’s history!”

“Yes, there’s many wonders to find in other continents, and Pyrathia has a very interesting past.” Princess Celestia smiled before continuing. “Anyhow, I have a meeting to attend to soon. I will send a letter to you once I find out all of the details on the next departure for Pyrathia. Does that sound alright, girls?”

“Yes,” replied both Twilight and Rarity.

“C’mon, girls, let’s get back to Ponyville,” Applejack said.

Without any other words said, the others joined her on her way out.

They walked out of Canterlot Castle, and down to the train station. There, they waited for the next outgoing train for Ponyville. The ride home was quiet, and awkward. Nopony spoke, yet each one of them had so much to say.

---

Fourteen days after Rainbow Dash went missing, inside Golden Oak Library. Noon.

---

Twilight was seated on the floor of her home with a Trotin-to-Ponish dictionary beside her, and the Incrementum Domini Pyrathia book in front of her. As she read, she glanced back and forth between the two books, occasionally flipping through the pages to find the right words.

After about an hour, she had only gotten done with the first two pages... out of the nine-hundred and twenty-nine.

Right when she was translating the word “ingressus,” Spike came running down the stairs with a letter in his claws. “Twilight, it’s from Princess Celestia!” he said, giving it to her.

Twilight quickly closed the books and set them to the side as she brought the letter in front of her. She took off the seal and unrolled it with her magic. She glanced towards Spike and saw that he was just as curious as her.

Twilight read the letter aloud:

“Dear Twilight Sparkle, my student,

I am pleased to tell you my findings.
The shipping vessel Foresight will allow you, Rarity, and my sister, Princess Luna, to travel with them to South Pyrathia. Foresight will be departing tomorrow at noon. They will be docking at the Port of Wynmeda in South Pyrathia after three four days of travel.

Tomorrow at dawn, a carriage will arrive in Ponyville to take you, Rarity, and Princess Luna to Las Pegasus, where you will be boarding.

Please pack lightly, as you will have to share a cabin with another pony.

Cordially,
Princess Celestia.”

Twilight set down the letter. “Spike, I’m going to need you to take care of Golden Oak Library for me,” she said.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I can handle it.”

“Thank you. Can you go run this letter over to Rarity while I start packing my saddlebags?”

“Yeah, be back in a little bit!” he shouted back as he ran out the door with the rolled letter in his claws.

---

Fifteen days after Rainbow Dash went missing, inside Rarity’s boutique. Early Morning.

---

“Say goodbye to Spike, check. Double check saddlebags, check. Make sur—”

“Twilight, darling...” Rarity said, silencing her friend by holding a hoof to her mouth.

“Oh, sorry. I just have to make sure I don’t forget anything.”

“Don’t you worry, Twilight. It’s probably going to be a quick little trip to this... Pyrathia place, and that’s it. We will find Rainbow Dash, and bring her back. Do not worry,” Rarity comforted.

“Y-you’re right. We will find her, a-and bring her back.”

“Yes. We will find her, and we will bring her back.”

“Well, Princess Luna will be here any moment, so we should grab our bags and head outside.”

“Agreed,” Rarity said, using her horn to pick up her nearby bags.

Twilight held the door open as they both exited the boutique.

Rarity walked along the path with her normal pace, and Twilight found it hard to keep up. She was just so worried about Rainbow Dash.

Once they rounded the corner of one of the many houses, they saw that their friends were talking with Princess Luna.

“Oh, you’re here already,” Twilight remarked.

“Yes, I want to get to Las Pegasus earlier rather than later,” Luna said as Rarity and Twilight placed their belongings in the carriage.

“Princess Luna, may I ask you a question?” Rarity asked.

“You don’t have to ask to ask me anything, Rarity,” Luna said, smiling.

“Well, why don’t we just take the train to Las Pegasus instead of the carriage?”

“The train has much more obstacles to go through because it is on the ground. With the carriage, and the help of magic, we can get there through air, with no obstacles. So it’s much faster,” Princess Luna answered.

“Oh...”

“Well, girls, I... guess this is goodbye for a little while,” Twilight said, turning to her other friends.

“Goodbye, you two. I’ma miss ya both,” Applejack said, wiping a tear from her eye.

“We’ll miss you too,” Twilight said.

“I hope you girls have a safe trip... and please, find Rainbow Dash, for all of us,” Fluttershy said, tears slowly falling.

“We will,” Rarity said confidently.

They looked towards Pinkie Pie and saw that she was already crying hysterically. “I-I’m s-sorry! I just... I’m gonna miss you two so much!”

“We’re going to miss you too, Pinkie. We’ll be back before you know it,” Twilight comforted.

“Don’t worry everypony, I will make sure they get back safely,” Princess Luna said, holding the door to the carriage open. “Come along now, you two.”

“Bye everypony,” Twilight repeated before climbing inside of the carriage behind Rarity.

Princess Luna followed them inside before signalling to the Royal Guard ponies to begin flying. The carriage lifted off of the ground and started hovering in a particular direction. Once they had gotten to a safe altitude, away from the ground, the carriage sped up.

“Princess Luna, how long is it going to take us to get to Las Pegasus?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not entirely sure, but it should only be a few hours. I’d say three to four hours,” she answered.

“Three to four hours... I’m not sure about you, but I am going to take a nap. After Spike brought that letter last night, I went throughout my boutique and made sure everything was in its place before I left. So I am exhausted.” Rarity yawned before lying back on the seat. She placed a bag beneath her head and put her eye mask on.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile as she watched her friend try to sleep. It made her feel better, but the thoughts of losing Rainbow Dash still lingered in her mind.

“Here, it’s your ticket for boarding the ship,” Luna whispered, holding out a small ticket for Twilight.

“Thanks,” she replied, placing the ticket inside her bag.

After a moment of awkward silence between them, Luna cleared her throat, “So, how are things in Ponyville?”

“I-it’s going fine. It’s just... gotten really... bland without Rainbow Dash around.”

“Hey, we’ll find her, don’t worry.”

“I can’t help it, Princess. I miss her. And... I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

“Yes... I understand. Oh, Twilight, I did the math and everything... With Rainbow’s speed after a rainboom, she would have crossed the Western Ocean in around two and a half hours. See, the Western Ocean is about 1,763 miles wide, and she would have probably been going around 770 miles per hour. So, you take the 770 and multiply it by two point five, and you get...” Luna paused for a moment, looking up, quietly counting.

“1,925,” Twilight answered.

“Yes, thank you.”

“I don’t know if she could even fly that long while maintaining that speed, Princess.”

“She’s strong and determined, I’m sure she could if she set her mind to it.”

“Y-you’re right. I don’t know why I doubted it.”

---

Twilight looked up from her book as the carriage touched down.

“We are here, Princess Luna,” one of the Royal Guards said.

“That was quicker than I thought it was going to be,” Rarity said through a yawn as she sat up.

“Well, you were asleep the whole time.” Twilight grabbed her belongings and walked out of the carriage. She smiled warmly as she nodded to the Royal Guards that stood to the side of the door. “Thank you,” she said kindly.

The guards nodded back in response.

“You may head back to Canterlot. I believe I can handle everything from here on out,” Luna said, dismissing the Royal Guards.

The guards walked back to the carriage and flew off not too long after.

“Well, girls, welcome to Las Pegasus.” Princess Luna turned towards the large cloud city and looked up.

“Why are we below it?” Rarity asked.

“Because, you can’t board the boat from the clouds,” Luna answered.

“It looks smaller than what it’s made out to be,” Twilight thought out loud.

“Yes, but it is filled with many, many things to do. Come along now, don’t want to miss our only opportunity to get to Pyrathia.”

Twilight and Rarity followed closely behind Princess Luna as they walked through the underneath of Las Pegasus. It was just before noon once they reached the shore.

“There it is. Foresight,” Princess Luna remarked.

As they made their way onto the docks, Foresight floated beside them. It stood tall, towering above all of the other ships. On top of it was shipping containers stacked high. The bridge just barely seemed to peak over the cargo. Foresight let out a loud, deep, long-held wail, signalling thirty minutes before departure.

“This is the shipping vessel that we will be living on for the next four days, girls,” Luna said, smiling.

“It looks... like it could use a shower,” Rarity said, looking away in disgust.

Foresight had spots on the hull where large amounts of barnacles clung to it. There were even spots where waves had gotten high enough to stick seaweed onto the hull, where it later dried to it. The paint seemed like it was chipping off, and the letter “e” was missing from the name on the stern. The draft of the ship was red, while the freeboard was black.

They made their way to the gangway to board the starboard side of the massive ship. Luna gave Rarity her ticket, and all three of them soon hoofed the tickets over to the ponies at the end of the gangway.

Once they were free to go, they made their way to the lower decks to find the cabins. After a bit of searching and asking around, they finally found the cabins. Twilight shared a room with Rarity and two other mares that worked on the boat. Princess Luna was given one of the captain’s quarters, as she was a princess.

Twilight and Rarity placed down their bags in their room and met up with Luna on the main deck.

Based on what Twilight had seen on the inside of the ship, it was going to be a long four days. The long passageways were lined with pipes and ropes. Every now and then, she would trip on the lip of each opened bulkhead door.

She had a hard enough time trying to get back to her room, and now she had to find the cafeteria.

It’s all for Rainbow Dash. I can bear with this as long as we find her.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

At least.they didn’t board the ship the same time Rainbow Dash arrived in Equestria!

Great chapter!

[lLoveRainbowDash]

10089323
Thanks!

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

10089358
You’re welcome!

[Yami Vizzini]

Another journey begins... at least they're kind of headed in the right direction. Now to see how these paths intersect (or at any rate come agonizingly close)....

[lLoveRainbowDash]

10089468
I'll try not to keep you waiting too long!