A Grand Journey

by Reached

Endlessly

A profound stillness enveloped the atmosphere. A few moments lingered after her question. Rookie's mouth opened, and a soft breath slipped out, but no audible response followed. He felt the slight tightening of the loose fist his hand had unconsciously formed.

Why was it so hard to talk? He just had to speak, just his name.

"-"

"Hello!"

It was Nova, finally taking a holographic form – a sight he vaguely recalled witnessing before, maybe in other AI. Instead of assuming a human appearance, she seemed to be adopting an approach to ease the tension, mirroring... them. A horn protruded from a disheveled-looking mane, and she sported oversized, conspicuously nerdy glasses on her face. Her form shimmered in a bright blue hue, making it challenging to distinguish color variations, especially with the streaks of straight white lines adorning her body. She appeared shorter than the others, but gauging their height from this distance proved difficult.

Twilight, the purple... pony in front of him, startled at Nova's sudden manifestation. A small gasp escaped her, eyes widening as she turned her attention to Nova, who responded with a goofy smile.

"H-How did you do that? It was just him - there was no teleportation spell. No one can hide their magic, not even the princesses! A-Are you a ghost?! You look so clear! You're not made of crystal, so maybe you're another kind of..." Twilight's composure shattered, her thoughts consumed by Nova's abrupt appearance. The sudden lapse in composure prompted some eye-rolling among her companions, hinting that such reactions were not uncommon.

As Twilight rambled on, the other five who had accompanied her finally broke their stillness. They moved, gathering beside Twilight, who was now scrutinizing Nova with curiosity.

"Twilight, I think ya need to snap out of it, now's not the time," an orange one spoke. The Rookie's gaze shifted to her; she appeared more composed than the others. The blue one, with the rainbow hair, shot him a dirty look. The white one's eyes were fixed not on him, but on Nova, filled with excitement rather than fear. The yellow one remained concealed behind the blue one, but Nova's appearance prompted her to peek out slightly. As for the pink one... she was nowhere to be seen among them.

A sudden blip on his radar appeared behind him, causing the Rookie to feel uneasy. In a swift, methodical movement, he sidestepped and focused on the blip. A sudden burst of confetti obscured his vision, making everything unclear. His hand instinctively twitched towards his sidearm, but once he saw only the confetti, he halted. The movement went unnoticed by all except Nova and Twilight, who stared at him, particularly at his hand. The slight twitch seemed to break Twilight out of her gaze, as if she sensed the sudden... hostility.

"A new shiny pony, and a new... weird pony! Well not weird in the bad way, but in a good way! Weird is good! I lo-" The pink one started to ramble, her eyes wide with joy, her smile, unnaturally... joyful. A sudden purple mist surrounded her mouth, and she was suddenly shut up. To Rookie, it was a slight relief. She... talked too much. The other four seemed bug-eyed at her display, simply looking past her, as if this happened often. Too often.

"Pinkie! Now is not the time!" Twilight's voice carried an authoritative tone, swiftly reprimanding the exuberant pink one. Rolling her eyes, Pinkie sighed and strolled back to the group of four, the dissipating mist leaving an air of quirky disappointment.

The Rookie, sensing the need to diffuse tension, sighed softly. He straightened his stance, directing his attention back to Twilight. Her unusual eyebrows furrowed slightly as she studied him, and she inquired, "What is your name?" The undertone carried a note of accusation, a touch of distrust, as if she had detected a hint of hostility in his movements.

"Rookie," he replied, his voice carrying a quiet undertone, slightly muffled by his mask. Twilight's ears perked up upon hearing his response. Nova, attempting to break the ice, cleared her holographic throat, redirecting Twilight's attention.

"He... doesn't talk very much, but I promise he's a good guy! As for me, my name is Nova! I'm his... assistant, you could say. We're really far from home, so if you don't mind, I'm sure we'd love to learn more about you all, who you are, and what you are!" Nova's cheerful words resonated, and she gave the Rookie a warm smile. "Right? Rookie?"

The Rookie nodded in agreement, his gaze shifting back to Twilight as he gave her another nod. Twilight, however, seemed perplexed. Her hoof instinctively went to her face, a sigh escaping her lips as she rubbed her temple. "Fine. I'll show you to my home, in Ponyville; we can talk more there. It's not too far. Follow me."

Twilight briskly turned around and began marching towards her companions, who followed suit. The guards in the distance looked to her for guidance, and she assured them, "I'm sure we'll be fine without you." Although they appeared unsure, they obeyed and walked away in unison. The townsfolk, having witnessed the encounter, seemed to sulk away, leaving the streets nearly empty. The presence of the Rookie, or perhaps his imposing armor, had evidently unsettled them.

The group accompanying Twilight huddled together, engaged in whispered conversations. The little gremlin and the orange cowboy-hatted one spoke to Twilight, while the rainbow one exclaimed something to the others, flying beside them. Abruptly, she halted and turned to face the Rookie and Nova, who were following at a slight distance. In an instant, she zoomed to the Rookie's face, hovering just in front. Unfazed, the Rookie maintained his pace, continuing to walk.

"You seem shady! Is there a reason to hide your face? You got something to hide?" The forceful, accusatory voice came from the rainbow-maned one.

Nova attempted to interject, but the rainbow one interrupted her before she could say another word. "Try anyyyy funny business, and I'll be sure to kick you back to wherever you came from, no matter how tough you think you are!"

The sound of running approached as the orange one came up to the three, smiling apologetically. She bit the end of the rainbow one's tail and began pulling her away. "Ahm ahwully shorry. Rhainbosh jusht a little defenshive ish all, Ahll talk to 'er." She laughed awkwardly and pulled her away from the Rookie.

"Oh, it's fine... Aha... No worries." Nova sheepishly laughed beside Rookie, smiling awkwardly back at them. They soon rejoined their group, leaving just Rookie and Nova again.

"You look like them," the Rookie said quietly. He kept his gaze forward at the group of seven beings ahead of him. They were full of character, even at this moment—talking amongst themselves, even laughing once or twice. He noticed the buildings, so strange in architecture as they approached. They looked like pictures of old villages in Europe or America, from times long past. There was almost no technology to be seen anywhere. In a nearby bush, a group of three eyes peered at him, poorly disguised. They were perhaps younger ponies, though it was hard to make out any real detail, other than their smaller sizes. People looked at him from their windows, from the fronts of their houses. There didn't seem to be any maliciousness; a few seemed wary, but most appeared curious.

"I had to break the tension somehow. It's a lot easier to speak to someone who looks like you. Too bad we only get to design our bodies once," Nova mentioned with a little, sheepish smile. The Rookie let out a small sigh in response as they approached a large oak tree. It was strange in shape, large and old, with windows all around its frame, and a door presented right at the base of the tree. It was a curiosity.

"Home sweet home. Please come in," Twilight said, inviting the two in. Nova and Rookie followed the seven, who made themselves right at home. It seemed like they knew this place well. The inside was a library. Books littered the area, though it was organized—an organized mess. Nearby was a table with chairs set all around beside it, and in the center of it, his drone. The Rookie stepped up to it and looked down. The wiring was an absolute mess, the blades bent and twisted; the poor drone had seen better days. Much better days.

The Rookie's hand slipped downward, touching the frame, only for it to spark violently, making him recoil his hand quickly. A sheepish laugh broke the silence beside him. He looked over at Twilight, seeing her looking at his drone. "I have no clue what that thing is; I take it that it's yours?" She asked, looking at him. He nodded.

"I'm very sorry that we broke it. It took me forever to get it to light up again, but it was the most intricate piece of technology I've ever seen! I mean, if you were able to get a metal bird to fly with wires, I have no clue what else you can do! I tested all of the wires; I even found out that it has positive and negative charges, even a ground! I had to test it with the same technology I have with my ligh-" Twilight started to ramble, her eyes going wide, her breath quickening. A sudden "ahem" from her friends, all of them, broke her trance. She coughed, blinked, and looked back at her friends with a sheepish smile.

The Rookie thought she maybe... was weirder than the pink one. Maybe.

"I'm sorry. I got too excited. Again, my name is Twilight. Welcome to Ponyville," she said, looking to Nova. She lifted a hoof up to her, seemingly to shake her hand. Nova reached her own 'hoof' up to shake Twilight's, but it slipped right through. The action surprised Twilight, threatening to bring her to another weird 'science attack.'

"You're... holographic?" Twilight whispered quietly. Nova was about to reply, only to be interrupted by the pink one. She appeared out of nowhere, yet again, and stuck her whole leg through Nova's body, her eyes wide with excitement. She let out a loud squeak of excitement and tried to poke at different parts of Nova's body. The white one suddenly appeared too. The Rookie hadn't expected her to show up too; she had been reserved, yet noble the whole time. She seemed at a loss for words.

"So beautiful yet... no way to correct! What a catastrophe! Whatever will I do? I was already planning on what to do with your mane, it's so unkempt, just like Twilight when I don't get on her for it. How am I going to fix you if I cannot touch you?!" She exclaimed, touching at Nova's face, her hoof going through Nova. Nova seemed shocked somewhat, but the rest of the six in this room seemed so unbothered by her actions; they barely even looked over at her. The pink one had somehow gotten a bubble machine and was blowing bubbles through Nova.

"Please ignore them," Twilight sighed, putting her hoof down, looking back to the Rookie. It seemed, for now, the others were preoccupied with Nova. Perhaps it was because she looked like them somewhat, or it was her friendly demeanor, but the other five ponies had gathered around Nova, and were speaking to her, rather than to Rookie.

"I need to know if you're really not here to hurt anypony. As Princess Celestia's number one pupil, I have to make sure anypony that appears in Ponyville is here for everyone's good and not out to hurt others."

The Rookie stood in contemplation, unsure of how to respond. He looked at her. He could see her eyes straining to get a look at his face, through the dark visor. He looked outside. It was midday. The landscape was beautiful. It was strangely beautiful. He had forgotten what a peaceful place looked like.

"I saw her in a dream. She had taken a nightmare away from me," he whispered, still looking away from Twilight. She seemed confused somewhat, a perplexed look coming to her face.

"I dreamt of Luna."

Comments

[UltraFool616]

I’ve been wandering if this is before or after Luna’s return, but I have a sneaky suspicion that is before that event.

[zElemental115]

Great chapter, looking forward to the next.

[Blackwatch9]

11832175
I’m pretty sure this is after.

[UltraFool616]

11838887
I wasn’t quite sure, some of the things she said at the end of the chapter just sounded strange I don’t know. I probably read it wrong in some way that made what she said sound peculiar to me.