A Dubious Welcome

by Maonyman

CH25: Driving

Anon was starting to get a little worried. They had been driving for over half an hour and Twilight hadn't said a word, just stared out the window at the landscape passing by. Compared to the infectious excitement of her previous car ride, it was a startling change of pace.

They still had at least an hour of driving ahead of them and Anon wanted to break the silence, but couldn't think of anything decent to say. Somehow playing music just didn't feel appropriate. So they were just rolling along in silence down the seemingly endless twisting mountain road.

Anon tried to puzzle it out in his head. This should be a happy moment, right? Twilight had been worrying about when rescue would come since the first day she arrived, and now that day had come. Why, then, did the silence feel so damn oppressive? Why did Twilight look so glum?

Finally, Anon gave up trying to think of something more tactful to say and simply took the blunt approach.

"Twilight, what's wrong?"

She jerked her head around as if startled, "Huh? What?"

Anon gave her a brief glance and the far-away look in her eyes was not reassuring.

"Something's wrong and I don't know what. Will you tell me what's on your mind, please?"

"Oh..."

She stared down at the floorboards for a minute, then sighed.

"It's just that I spent all this time anxious for somepony to come rescue me, and now that it's actually happening, I..."

"You don't want to go?"

"No, I do, I just... I don't know. I guess I just wasn't expecting it so soon."

Anon gave her a sidelong glance, noting the way her tail was flicking nervously.

"Was there... something you needed to do?"

She slumped in her seat a little.

"No, not really, I guess."

The silence stretched on for a few moments.

"It's just..." Her voice fell almost to a whisper, "I'll miss you."

Anon took a deep breath, then found his own voice was a bit husky too.

"Yeah... I'll miss you too."

He heard her sniff a little and reached out to touch her hoof.

"Do you think... maybe you'll visit again someday?"

"I don't know," she said wistfully, "I can't exactly choose where I will appear."

He looked surprised at her, then returned his gaze to the road.

"So you were just... hoping for the best when you came here?"

"Pretty much, yeah." She nervously fluttered her good wing. "I guess I was just overconfident. I didn't think there would be any problem what with all my powers."

"But if you come back again, you'll be more prepared, right? You'll know what to expect."

He saw her shake her head out of the corner of his eye.

"It's not that simple. I've been studying your world a lot these past few days, and there's such an amazing variety of places... what if I appeared in a jungle around dangerous predators, or in the middle of your Pacific Ocean, or on a freezing glacier?"

"But your spells...?"

"Oh sure, they'd protect me somewhat, but I'd still be stuck in the middle of nowhere with no idea how to get to civilization. I'd have to teleport over and over again and hope to find something useful, and you can only teleport so far in an unfamiliar location."

"I see."

They both sat in silence for a moment.

"Well... what if... what if I came to visit you, instead?"

She leaned forward to give him a hard stare.

"And how exactly are you planning to do that with no magic?"

Anon swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Uh, well... I could, y'know... come back with you."

Twilight opened her mouth as if to reply, then closed it and sat back in her seat again.

"I mean, only if you want to, of course. I would never want to impose," the words poured out in a nervous rush. "It just seems like it would be interesting, that's all. I trust you but I still can't quite wrap my head around there being other worlds, and I would love to visit yours, if you--"

"Okay."

His mouth snapped shut and he stared at her in shock.

Then he jerked his eyes back to the road and veered back into his lane.

"Y-You mean--"

"I would like that very much, Anon."

He felt his chest swell with hope and an uncontrollable grin spread across his face.

"You really mean it? Twilight I--Thank you. I'm honored."

She leaned over and wrapped her hooves possessively around his arm, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"No, Anon, the honor is mine. It would be wonderful to show you my world and introduce you to my friends. I think you will really like them."

He tilted his head and pressed his own cheek against the top of her head, feeling her ear flick as it was squished slightly into his neck.

"I'm looking forward to it."

After a moment, she slowly released him and pulled away.

"So, um... where are we going, anyway?" she said a bit awkwardly.

"Huh? Oh, to the nearest major city, Asheville. That's the nearest airport, at least as far as I know."

"Airport?"

"Yeah. Your friend Starlight is across the ocean so we will need to fly there and--"

"Oh! Humans can fly too?"

Her surprised expression made him grin.

"Not naturally, no. What, you haven't learned about planes yet?" She shook her head and he continued, "It's a big machine that can carry a bunch of people and flies through the air at incredible speed, several times faster than we are traveling right now."

"Oh wow. What kind of mechanism flaps the machine's wings?"

He chuckled at that, then said, "It doesn't flap like a bird--or an alicorn, for that matter. Planes have rigid wings that are shaped in such a way that when the air travels over them they generate lift. Get it moving fast enough and it creates enough lift to carry a lot of weight."

"But if it doesn't flap--"

"The speed comes from something called a jet engine. You remember how I was explaining how a car engine uses lots of tiny explosions to make a turning force?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well, a jet engine uses a turbine to create what is essentially one steady on-going explosion that never ends in order to--"

"Wouldn't that just be called a fire?"

Anon hesitated, caught a bit off guard by the question, then shook his head and said, "A fire burns slowly, like wood. This is burning jet fuel mixed with air, which burns far, far faster. That's why we call it explosive."

Twilight shook her head stubbornly, "A fast fire is still a fire, though!"

"Not really. The difference is an explosive fuel burns fast enough to create a shockwave. That's when the expansion of heat and energy expands so rapidly it creates a sort of pulse through the air which can be felt and sometimes even seen."

She perked up at that, "Oh, so it's like a rainboom!"

At Anon's confused glance, she giggled and continued, "Pegasi and alicorns emit constant magical energy while flying. The faster they fly--or the heavier the load they're carrying--the more energy is required to stay airborne. Once you reach a certain point, so much energy is emitted that it begins to pile up on itself and form a sort of barrier of resistance, making it much more difficult to go any faster."

She raised a hoof conspiratorially, "However, under extraordinary circumstances, a pegasus with enough raw magical power can break through this 'barrier' and cause a sudden overflow of magical energy, which manifests as a rainbow-colored pulse through the air perpendicular to the direction of travel."

She grinned at his stunned expression, "Not only is it an impressive sight to behold, but it is also very efficient because once you pass that threshold, all that extra resistance disappears and you can abruptly fly much, much faster while simultaneously using less energy."

"That..." Anon shook his head, dumbfounded.

Twilight looked confused, "What is it?"

He gave her an amazed look, "What you just described almost perfectly mirrors an effect we have called a sonic boom. The only significant difference is instead of a visual explosion, breaking the sound barrier creates an audible explosion, a constant roar of sound."

"So that's yet another parallel between our worlds!" She touched his hand excitedly and said, "Anon, I can't believe this is a coincidence anymore. There's simply too much in common. I haven't even mentioned how similar the landscape and vegetation is. There has to be a connection!"

"Well, do you have any theories?"

Her fervor faded a little as she replied, "Well, no... but I intend to ask Princess Celestia as soon as I get home! If anypony would know, it's her."

"Who is she?"

"Princess Celestia? Oh my gosh, she's amazing! She's princess of the sun and ruler over all of Equestria. Her sister Princess Luna rules over the night, but Princess Celestia rules during the day, which means she handles most of the bureaucratic stuff."

Twilight lowered her voice a bit and Anon glanced over to see a faint blush on her muzzle.

"She is also my personal mentor and means more to me than anything, even my close friends. She realized my magical potential as a filly and took me under her wing, and she's the one who made me into an alicorn."

"Wait, made you an alicorn?"

Twilight nodded soberly, "I was foaled a unicorn. Once I had proven myself, Celestia took me into some... I don't know, special dimension or something, I still don't fully understand it. But in that place she gave me my alicorn powers."

Her voice shifted into something approaching awe.

"I already owed her so much, and then she gave me so much more than I could have ever hoped for. I would do anything for her. Anything."

She fell silent and Anon waited patiently. He enjoyed learning about her past and her homeworld, but she seemed like she needed a moment to herself and Anon was not about to interrupt that.

Abruptly, she looked up again, "Oh, sorry. Um, got a little sidetracked there... what were we talking about before?"

Anon merely laughed.

"Hell if I know."

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[Poparakelis]

"Hell if I know."