Chapter 8: Real Subtle
Several hours had passed by the time that Michelle and Twilight returned home. I had my entire collection of firearms on the kitchen table in various stages of disassembly; the scent of Hoppes #9 hung thickly in the air. I was rubbing the slide of my dad’s Sig Sauer with an oily rag as Michelle kicked open the door from the garage and stumbled through with Twilight right behind her. Both were weighed down by several bags apiece.
“Hey,” my fiance started, setting down her bags and wiping her brow with the back of her hand. “What’s up?”
“I made a couple of calls,” I said, looking back to the slide in my hand. “And took care of everything. Did you get it all?”
“Yeah,” she replied, pressing her lips together into a thin line. “I think that I did.”
“Good,” I nodded and looked back up at her, my eye meeting hers. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”
“That soon?” she gasped, her shoulders slumping.
“Luna’s being picked up from the hospital tomorrow, so we have to move fast,” I said as I stood and moved to her, putting my hands on her shoulders. I paused for a moment, my eyes searching her face before saying: “You don’t have to come with me you know? You could-”
“Stop,” she commanded, putting her hand over my mouth. “I knew what I was getting into when I walked out that door with Twilight this afternoon. I have no intention of leaving now.”
I smiled and pulled her into my arms, relief flooding through me.
“So,” she said, pulling away from my embrace. “What are you up to in here?”
“You and I both know that they are going to come and bust down the door here in the hopes of finding us, right?” At her nod, I continued. “Well, the last thing that they’re going to want them to discover is a bunch of guns in my safe in the office. I’m gonna leave them out for them to find safely. Slides and bolts back and empty. All my ammo will be in nice containers and counted and everything.
Michelle walked over to the table, I could tell that she was looking everything over.
“But, not everything’s here,” she said, turning to look at me. “You’re not bringing any with us, are you?”
“We’re already breaking enough laws as it is,” I said with a sake of my head. “The last thing that we need is more attention. No. I took grandad’s M1 and 1911 to mom’s place. Emma too.”
“Ah”
I could see the pain that the loss of Emma brought to her, the same little hollow that had been left in my heart as well.
She shook herself, muttered under her breath for a moment before marching over to the bags and beginning to pull stuff out.
“I think that I have everything that we’ll need,” she said as she pulled a good sized backpack out of a Walmart bag. “Went to the surplus store to get some durable bags for Twi and Luna. Got some clothes for the both of them at Macy’s, they had a sale. And I couldn’t resist... This!”
With a flourish , she shoved a large grey and brown furred-thing into my face.
“I saw him at the Build-a-Bear in the mall and couldn’t resist,” she squealed happily, still forcing the thing into my face. “His name is Noodle!”
I coughed and took the thing from her before I inhaled it.
“Is it,” I paused, taking a good look at the stuffed animal, “an anteater? Really?”
“I thought that it was a good idea,” said Twilight, coming in from her room. “After Michelle suggested a bear, I suggested something else that was not related to a star beast of legend.”
“That makes sense,” I mused, still looking at the stuffed anteater. It was by no means anatomically accurate from the little that that I knew of anteaters, more cartoony and friendly and very soft. I couldn’t help but smile at the thing.
“I’m sure that Luna will love it,” I said, handing the toy back to Michelle with a smile. “There are a ton of things that we’re going to need to buy once we get wherever we’re going.”
“Why can’t we get that here?” asked Twilight, who had dropped herself onto the couch and was helping Michelle pack Luna’s bag. “Can’t we just take everything with us?”
“Normally,” said Michelle before I could respond. “We would take everything with us, try to save our money for emergencies and that kind of thing. But considering what we’re about to do, we can’t afford to wait for luggage claim and check baggage. We need to get out of the airport as fast as possible.”
“Its easier to show you once we get there,” I cut in, seeing Twilight about to ask the obvious question. “Let’s just say that bags over a certain size had to be stored underneath the plane instead of with the passengers and the unloading time for that would be unnecessary time spent near law enforcement.”
“Ah,” replied Twilight with a nod. “But that wasn’t my question.”
“Oh,” I said, turning my whole attention to her. “Sorry ‘bout that, what’cha need?”
“I was going to ask: What’s a plane?”
.oOo.
It was the early morning when I was awoken from a fitful dozing by a series of thumps coming from down the hall.
With a quiet groan, I extracted myself from the blanket nest that Michelle built in her sleep and padded out of our room and down the hall. The door to the office was slightly ajar and I could hear the sound of books being tossed around randomly and the slightest sounds of sniffling.
“Twi,” I said softly, pushing the door open and stepping into the warm light of my office. “Is everything okay?”
For a long moment, Twi stood with her back to me, facing the thoroughly rearranged bookshelf.
“I don’t know anymore,” she sighed, turning to face me, her eyes were slightly red. “There are so many things wrong here that I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Okay,” I replied, holding my hands up in a placating gesture and trying to remain as calm as possible. “That’s why I’m here, you know that you can ask me anything that you want,”
“Why are you doing this!?” she all-but exploded at me, her voice loud for the small room. “Why are you throwing everything away for ponies that you think are fictional? You had a life here, a career, everything that a stallion could ask for and you’re about to give all of that up for Luna and me!”
I sighed, a little surprised that this hadn’t come up before then.
“Because,” I said, stalling. I wasn’t completely sure of my reasons myself at that point. “It really is the right thing to do. Before he died, my dad would always tell me that there would come a moment in my life, a choice that I would have to make, that would change everything that I knew about myself and my world forever.
“For a while, I thought that that choice had come and gone when I asked Michelle to marry me. I was convinced that learning to be a good husband and, eventually, a good father would be that change that my dad was talking about.”
I looked her in the eyes before continuing: “But when I look at you and Luna, when I see the you sitting here before me, I can see you as you are now and I can see the you that was on the cartoon. I know that this is the moment where I make the real choice that I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. I have to believe that this is bigger than anyone would ever dream. That if you and Luna are here, then so are your friends and Princess Celestia.”
Twilight nodded, following my reasoning.
“I cannot leave the eight of you to the flow of the human world, you are not compatible with our nature. You still see the good in everyone when, more often than not, there isn’t enough good to salvage. Without your magic, this realm or whatever would chew you and your friends up and spit you out like gum that has lost its flavor.”
I looked over at the clock, it was well after three in the morning.
“You’d better get some sleep Twi,” I sighed, rubbing my face with one hand. “Its going to be a very long day tomorrow.”
“But I have more questions,” she protested, nearly letting the book in her arms drop to the floor.
“I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” I chuckled. She gave me a small smile in return. “But if we’re not on our best tomorrow, we’re going to have even more problems than we’re already going to have.”
With a small sigh she nodded and set her book on the shelf.
“I know,” she said in a small voice, staring at my feet. “I’m just scared.”
“Me too Twi,” I said, putting my arm around her shoulder and walking her out and over to her room. “Me too.”
.oOo.
True to his word, the package was on my doorstep by the time I went to fetch the morning paper. Inside of the plain yellow envelope were four Canadian passports and a set of business-class tickets from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to the Sydney Airport. Boarding time was scheduled for just after noon. Also inside of the envelope was a set of two MasterCards in the names on the passports.
Things we going to be messy.
Twilight and Michelle both walked into the living room at the same time. Twilight’s hair was damp from having just gotten out of the shower. Both of them had their backpacks slung over one shoulder and Michelle had Luna’s in one hand.
“Where are we going?” asked Michelle as she dropped her and Luna’s bags on the couch.
“Australia,” I replied, looking at the note that had been included. “Interesting.”
“What?” Twilight asked, looking up from her bag. I assume that she was rechecking that she had everything.
“Hopefully, the way that we’re going to get through the airport,” I replied, sliding Michelle’s passport to her and tossing Twilight hers. “The two of you are sisters: Michelle and Twilight Bell. Twi, you have a daughter from your late boyfriend, that would be Luna.”
Michelle and Twilight both giggled.
“I never said that my friend was creative, just go with it,” I snarked through a grin of my own. “Luna has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and the two of you hired me, Nathan Juarez, a nurse with an independent medical company to make sure that she gets to Australia with as few problems as possible.”
I help up the boarding passes, my new ID badge, the tags and notices for the items in the first aid kit that I had planned on bringing, and a new hospital bracelet for Luna.
I looked up at the two of them, catching their eyes, and nodded.
“Let’s load up.”
The three of us grabbed the five bags that we would be taking and tossed them into the back seat of Michelle’s four-door sedan, then we took off.
I somehow knew, right then, that I would never see my house again.
The drive to the hospital was uneventful, but nerve wracking. Even Twilight seemed nervous in the way that she watched Austin go by through the car window. I reached over from the back seat and gave her shoulder a slight squeeze, she placed her hand over mine and gave me a small smile in return.
“Everything’s going to be okay Twi,” I said in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Neither of the two women in the front responded.
It was just after seven in the morning by the time that we pulled into the parking lot. Traffic hadn’t fully set in yet, and wouldn’t for a little while. At least, not on the highway toward the airport. With luck, I would be able to get into Luna’s room before anyone I knew noticed me. It shouldn’t have been too hard, with the nurses switching shifts at that point in time and the chaos that always ensued.
I walked up a side staircase that would put me in front of the entrance to the Children’s Ward and made my way past the entrance desk while a large family group signed in at the desk. My goal was to not be seen by the staff, but I knew that there was no way that the electronic security system would miss me.
Luna was sitting on the bed with her face buried into her knees, just like the first time that I met her. There was a coloring book in front of her and an unopened box of crayons.
“Princess,” I whispered, shutting the door very softly behind me. Her head snapped up and the biggest smile erupted across her face.
“You came back!” she cried, jumping off the bed and running over to me.
“I told you that I would didn’t I?” I whispered again, putting a finger over her mouth as I picked her up and sat her on my hip. Seeming to get the hint, she nodded and buried her face in my shoulder. “You ready to get out of here? My fiance and Twilight are waiting out in the car for you. We’re going to help you find your sister.”
“Find Tia? Really?”
“Yup.”
If possible, her smile got even wider; so big and happy that it lit up the room. I pulled her a little closer into my arms and quietly opened the door out of the room, staring at the fire exit in front of her door. The red light on the bar indicated that it was active and that the alarm would sound if I opened the door.
I stepped out into the hall to see the most unwelcome sight that I could have imagined. The social worker, Judith Ratchet, was standing at the front desk, talking amicably with the head nurse. As if alerted by my eyesight on her, she turned and our eyes met. I could see the confusion and shock there, but I didn’t stick around to see anything else.
With a quickness that surprised even me, I kicked the emergency door open and started sprinting down the stairs, taking as many as I could at a time, the sirens shrieking behind me.
Michelle pulled her car around the moment that she saw me fly out of a different door and I hurled the two of us in shouting: “Go! Go!”
Luna and I lay gasping in the backseat for several long moments as Michelle flew down the highway as fast as she dared. It wouldn’t be long before they came looking for the her car, and eventually for the two of us.
“Crazy social worker,” I groaned as I sat up and buckled Luna into the middle seat. “Coming to pick up a kid at seven in the morning.”
“Were you seen?” asked Michelle as she exited onto the toll road.
“Yeah,” I sighed, running my hand over my face. “But with the fire alarm and everything we should still be good.”
I turned to look at Luna. She had taken my arm in her tight little grasp as I smiled at her.
While nerve racking, the rest of the drive to the airport was uneventful. We left the car in the airport paid parking and checked into the flight.
Due to Luna’s ‘medical condition’ and my status as her nurse, our bags were given a manual prod through by the TSA and we got by with an unenthusiastic wand check. Twilight and Michelle had to go through the full security check while the two of us waited on them; Luna clutched Noodle to her chest like her life depended on it. In all of the excitement at the hospital, Michelle had forgotten to give the plush to the little girl and the TSA agent had, unwittingly, spoiled the surprise.
We were right on time.
Twilight didn’t have time to be fascinated by the plane’s construction before we were told to buckle-up and prepare for takeoff.
The business section was, thankfully, mostly empty, and the four of us were surrounded by a bubble of empty rows. I don’t think that there were many people on the flight in total, even in coach.
Luna was happily scribbling away in a new coloring book, hastily purchased by Michelle in the airport after learning how long the flight was, Twilight had her nose buried in another book, and Michelle was sitting with Luna, one arm around the girl’s shoulder while ‘helping’ her color.
With all three of my girls safe and sound, I took a long drag of the earl grey that the attendant brought me and opened my throwaway copy of Don Quixote, identifying more with the main character than I ever had before.
Nice chapter title! I was wondering when the breakout would actually happen, cause I read it on the news in another one of these stories. And now off to find the others in Australia.
While I know snatching a kid from a hospital is a big deal, I still can't help but think that this is all way more complicated than it has to be. You're slowly making me too skeptical.
Oooh Australia. I sense yet more meetups.
2856195
I'm not being sarcastic when I ask this: How so? Please explain. I want to understand where the rips ups are so I can improve.
2856195 As overly complicated and illegal as it is... the semi-forced plot vehicle's destination is Australia.
Which seems to be the ultimate destination of all Ponyfall authors... for now.
Identifying with Donkey Oat? I feel for ya, dude. Y'all have my sympathy.
Yay! More Australia, Mate
2856195 Ever read The Glass Castle? It's the autobiography of this girl who, as far back as she can remember, always got out of hospitals by her father picking her up and just waltzing out the front door. There's much more to her story, but that's the most relevant.
I know that it seems like Stupidity is the Only Course, and that these authors are now finding Plot Coupons with more regularity than a one would find WalMarts with low prices, but a lot of these stories have lagged behind by a bit, and so are going to find themselves in a temporal/quantum quandary if they're introduced into the stories that are further along while they're not anywhere near that.
With that being said, Story Stagnation and Plot Advancement Bus Fares are becoming a tad more ubiquitous with all the differing authors flailing about. No offence meant, of course.
2856260
To be fair I haven't read all of them. But I marathon-ed this, Crusaders, and Australia. I do still need to and plan to read others, but I got burnt out really quickly. But I do have Applejack on my list somewhere.
2856287
non taken, but I would like to point out here. It was always the point to kidnap Luna and make a run for it.
Leaving the guns at home... Do you even locked case = guns can be taken with you?
Or some sort of shady blacklist cargo shipment service.
why does this seem so appropriate for this?
to me at least... I dunno about anyone else though
2856311
Check the Australian firearms law.
2856319 ... Curse you international firearms agendas!
2856297 Yeah, I knew that. I'm just saying that it seems rushed because of the time-difference between fics. If a person were to read Australia before this one, and have Luna and Twilight be with the others already while in Luna and Twilight's main story they're still sitting on a plane... That's not good planning, because then anything you might do to provide tension or suspense is immediately shrugged off because we'd have already seen the end, and therefore know that you make it there alright. I'm not saying that you or any of the other authors-- nor the stories themselves-- are contrived, I'm just saying that they're so not in sync that it's discombobulating, and things can seem rushed as one story tries to catch up with the others.
2856364
Ah, I get you now.
I don't really have an excuse, real life comes first. With school, work, my wedding, and everything else it has not been easy to find tome to sit down and write like I used to.
Yes, new chapter! Looks like there's going to be a pony party in Australia.
2856378 Trust me, I understand completely. I've got four chapters written for this one story... But they could all be the first one. I've just kept restarting my characterization each time, and they're all similar enough, but... eh. I'm still not sure what I like and what I don't like. Between College, a wedding, dislocating my knee, and work, I've had barely any time to set aside for reading, let alone writing.
2856236 It just seems like a bit too much deus ex machina - too easy. Having said that, I honestly can't offer any solutions. I guess that means I'm complaining about things I can't change.
Yup, I know what happens next in the FS/PP and CMC stories!= now!
2856426 There is actually a very relevant plot device in place for this, and it has to do with the end of PonyFall.
Let's put it this way: there are a lot of coincidences in PonyFall. There has to be for any of it to actually work.
I noticed this early on and put something into place to explain all of the coincidences. Some have been put in intentionally, some have been added out of necessity. But the in-story reason they exist is not meant to be revealed until near the very end.
OMG Are you guys the surprise in the cliffhanger that just happened in the latest chapter of Onward Valiant Crusaders?
Refuge in audacity in action. When in doubt, go for something so outlandish that you're scot free before the opposition has regathered its wits. Sometimes, it even works!
Looking forward to more, especially when the friendship to magic conversion makes itself known.
2856509 Sorry, just realized you meant OVC and not Australia. It goes into more detail in Australia that could be spoilery if you have yet to read that chapter. I highly suggest you do if you haven't yet.
I am confused over the lack of interaction between Luna and Twilight in this chapter. They just met again after being separated in a new world, and I would expect some kind of weighty reaction to come of it, or at least them freaking out a bit. Did I miss something?
I realize the whole scene was meant to be fast paced, but even a tiny bit of recognition/realization/reaction to finding each other would merit a brief snippet of something, even if it is a very brief moment n the car before they speed off in the van. I just feel an important bit of emotional development was missed and that somehow the story ultimately suffers for it.
Ultimately, I feel like this chapter is a few thousand words too short.
2857034
I noticed the interaction thing also. It struck me as odd that we didn't see them exchange any words or reactions, even though they had to have done so at some point.
*It's
The destination being Australia does seem a bit forced, yeah. I'd think you'd be trying to go for a country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US so you couldn't just be yanked back. As-is, you're chancing it that they'll figure out what happened before the flight ends and you get apprehended after landing.
With Luna in tow, will Twilight's (absent) forehead-mounted plot enabler pack the punch needed to get out of a situation like that if that's how it goes down?
2857079>>2857034
And I would normally totally agree with you, but give me a chance guys, have I really let you down before?
It never ceases to amaze me when people comment that 'Hey, it should happen this way instead!'
Uh, hello? You all don't know the whole story yet. Did ya ever stop and think that maybe there's a reason Luna's not talking to anyone but Matt right now?
Australia: where people with cartoon ponies come to run away. Join and run away with your pony today!
2857199
It's fine if there's a reason (and there obviously is), but at least have something there. Even if they don't interact (because they don't recognize each other, for example), at least acknowledge the lack of interaction. The way the chapter currently is just kind of leaves it hanging, like it doesn't want to look right at the lack of interaction because staring at any particular plot element for too long will tear a hole in the fabric of the fictional medium and send us all cascading into an eternal void of despair and hopelessness. Probably.
ALL RIGHT!! Australia! great choice
though I might be a bit bias cos Im australian......meh
2857413
you have to remember that this story is being told from my point of view, I'm not really paying attention to anything other than getting away at this point. While yes, its likely that Twilight would have said something, or Michelle at this point, I'm not privy to their thoughts.
Yes, it is a hole, but one that I left there on purpose.
2856236
I'm going to have to agree with notabrony. I'd think getting out of a hospital would take a lot more work. Like, where is the security guards and police that always seem to hang around? And you are able to get through airport security. I'm 90% sure that your face would be across the country within an hour and you'd be caught before you got off the plane.
cant wait for mre!!!!!!!!!!!!
2857672
Not entirely. The only person to see him was the social worker. So, he could easily get out the fire exit and escape before anyone could react and stop him.
As for the plane, it would take them a little while to get the police and start working out a way to find him, and they probably wouldn't look right away at all flights leaving the country. They'd start out with all the leads they could in the United States, and post his name up as wanted on all national airports. By time they got his name up on the do not fly list he would already be boarded and leaving for Australia, and by time they figured out that he was on the flight to Australia he would be long gone. It's all about speed, and in this case he knew what he was doing.
Good chapter, a little rushed but it's understandable given the situation of the chapter. I'm also semi glad now that I haven't read Australia or onward Valiant crusaders yet, so it wasn't spoiled for me.
2857876
Actually, his face would be on a number of security cameras. His face would be put up within hours across every airport. They would see him on a security camera and realize he was fleeing the country. This is how they knew where Snowden went once he ran off. This is what's going on in America. The media will be able to know where he is within 24 hours.
Also, just to make this funny. He is now a criminal, fleeing to a country started by criminals. Lol
2857413>>2857672 Pin that on me for letting the chapter by as-is in the first place.
At this point, there are four stories that lag behind. Twilight & Luna's, Celestia's, Rainbow Dash's, and Rarity's. I might be being a bit more lenient with their chapters when running through them simply because they take so God-awfully long to come to me and we're tired of waiting on them. (Note: this isn't always due to being slow. There's usually a good reason for the delay).
I also might be having problems with the fact that I already know what happens in the story so I don't need it to be conveyed to me when I read a chapter. I'll remember to be a bit more careful with that in the future.
Anyway, my stance has been that we've waited far too long for certain stories to catch up, so getting the chapters out is a priority.Twilight and Luna not speaking isn't exactly a big problem in my mind because they'd probably be pretty darn quiet considering the gravity of what's going on (in addition to the aforementioned things I can't mention - if that makes sense).
It was my call to make and I stand by it. I'll still note the complaints and keep a better eye out next time, but there's no way we're changing the chapter.
2857904
Oh, I had no intention of you changing it. I was just bored and saw the comment. I've been planning how to steal from a hospital since I first posted that. (Actually I've been typing my own story and keeping entertained by throwing out thoughts here to keep my writing flowing).
2857901 Two problems with that argument:
1 - Matt didn't "leak classified information to the enemy," so the response wouldn't be nearly as immediate as it was in Snowden's case.
2 - Snowden made it out unscathed. He's trapped (as far as we know), but currently untouchable.
2857901
Ok, in that case I'll admit I'm wrong then. I haven't kept track of all the newest cases I was just going off of some things I learned.
But, it is a story and just like movies I'm willing to give it a little bit of leeway from being 100% realistic. As long as it's 90-95% realistic I'm pretty happy, and so far it has shown that it is.
2857927>>2857932
I feel like I keep starting arguments on this site... Maybe I should reconsider what I'm doing here and just go about writing.
2857938>>2857932 Okay, while I did use the word 'argument,' I don't consider this to be one. Just a discussion about the potential realism of a story featuring ponies from another world who have been transformed into humans.
...
I suppose I should scrap the "Matt secretly practices Voodoo" plotline...
2857946
I... uh... voodoo? Ok then, just go ahead and... uh... I'll just back away slowly now...
2857927
That's a pretty good counterpoint. Good thing I know nothing about snowden, so I couldn't really find an argument against that. If that's the case I'll let my first comment stand.
2857946
Wait what... He practices voodoo. Oh now this changes everything.
2857963>>2857999 Not only does Matt practice voodoo, but Pinkie Pie's a clone and...
Argh I'm spoiling too much now.
2858007
images.sodahead.com/polls/002260503/1620742673_532dd66d_mind_blown_xlarge.jpeg
2858007
I doubt all of that, especially Pinkie being a clone. There is only one Pinkie who can do what you have written. No clone can copy the exact Pinkie Pie. And technically, the Pinkie Pie you know of hasn't experienced the Mirror Pool incident.