Chapter 2: Road Trip
Chapter 2: Road Trip
Most of yesterday consisted of me helping Shining Armor make sure he had everything he needed for the semester. His schedule, books, supplies, laptop, everything. But of course, that was the easy part. I had to show him how to use the laptop properly and how to navigate the Internet without stumbling onto something disgusting. He may have done some research on America’s culture but he was totally clueless about the Internet, which made for a very interesting conversation indeed.
We had both posted our respective schedules on the door to our room, and I discovered that we shared a math class together. I wasn’t terribly great at most forms of math, so I hoped that Shining Armor had some sort of better understanding of the subject. Fortunately for me, he does.
“So it seems like you and I are in Calculus together.” I commented as we put our schedules up.
“Looks like it.” Shining Armor replied. “You any good at it?”
“Math was never my strong point.”
“That’s alright; I can help out if you need it.”
“You are a life saver dude.”
Fast forward a bit to the next morning. Today was the day that Shining Armor had his tour of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
“Ready to go?” I asked him as I double checked to make sure I had everything.
“I’m ready.” Shining Armor replied, sounding more enthusiastic than normal.
One last check to make sure I had what I needed. “Okay, let’s go.”
Ten minutes later we were out of Greeley and on the highway. I had my iTouch plugged in and some music playing, but Shining Armor only seemed interested in the scenery. There wasn’t much south of Greeley besides open fields and farms, but out in the distance the majestic Rocky Mountains dominated the western horizon. Shining Armor enjoyed staring out at the mountains, if his facial expression was anything to judge by.
“Like the view?” I asked as we passed through a small town.
“These mountains are nothing like the ones back in Equestria.” Shining Armor replied. “They seem so much taller, so much more imposing and endless.”
I laughed. “Better get used to it then.”
“Why’s that?” Shining Armor looked at me, puzzled.
“Because the Air Force Academy sits at the base of these mountains, no pun intended.”
We drove on in relative silence until we got to Denver. Being the biggest metropolitan area for literally hundreds of miles, Denver’s major highways were usually a mess of jams and other obstructions. Today was no exception.
I carefully merged onto Interstate 76 and set a course for Interstate 25, the major north-south artery across the state. I despised heavy traffic in Denver. Not because I didn’t think I could manage, but more because that meant I had to be extra aware for any and all idiots behind the wheel, and heavier traffic only meant that there were bound to be more idiots on the road.
In any case, I was able to maneuver through traffic with ease and eventually merged onto Interstate 25. As I did, the Denver skyline came into full view, and I noticed Shining Armor’s jaw drop at the sight.
He stuck a hoof towards the city and exclaimed, “What the hay is that?!”
“That,” I replied, “is the city of Denver, capital of the state of Colorado. Rather, that is the city core, the part of the city most people refer to as ‘downtown’. There’s a lot going on there.”
“I’ve never seen anything so…massive!” Shining Armor said. “Not even the city of Manehatten had anything like this. Nothing nearly as tall as these structures.”
“Maybe one day I’ll take you downtown and you can get a real good look up close.”
We made pretty good time through Denver. The highway curved sharply a few blocks around downtown, and the whole time Shining Armor stared at the skyscrapers in awe. This part of the interstate through downtown is always plagued with construction, but today it didn’t seem to impede traffic too much. Heading south past downtown the interstate took a slightly more decorative appearance, with mountains and markings carved into the walls and decorative overpasses with bridges that bore big signs denoting what road the overpass was for. The metro light rail ran along the right side of the highway from downtown and followed the highway almost to the end of the metro area.
Denver’s funny like that though. In a typical American city, usually the south end is the ghetto and the north end is all nice and rich, right? Well, in Denver that’s not the case. In the Denver area, it’s the south end that’s rich and welcoming and the north end that’s poor, run down, and generally doesn’t look as nice.
A few miles south of downtown Denver we passed through an area known as the Denver Tech Center, a big commercial park in the suburb of Greenwood Village complete with apartments, office towers, and big venues that had a skyline all its own. Nothing terribly impressive about it, visually, but it does make the south metro seem far more developed than the northern half. Or even any other part of the metro for that matter, and Denver had some suburbs that were bigger than a number of fairly prominent cities across the nation.
Leaving the metro, the interstate headed up an incline and between some hills towards the town of Castle Rock. I made note of the time, half after ten, as we neared the exits for the booming town. From here it would take roughly another forty minutes or so to reach our destination in Colorado Springs.
As we passed through the town I couldn’t help but glance out at the surrounding hills and the mountains off to the west. I have a lot of friends all over the state, and a fair number of them complain about the jog between Denver and Colorado Springs. I actually like making that drive. The scenery in Douglas County, the county between the Denver metro and Colorado Springs, is beautiful and about as ‘Colorado’ as scenery around here can get without being deep in the Rockies, and this morning the skies were clear and everything looked fresh and crisp.
“You got anything like this back in Equestria?” I asked as we left Castle Rock.
“Scenery like this?” Shining Armor asked. “Sure we have mountains and valleys and loads of forests, but I can’t say I’ve ever personally seen anything quite like this back home. Colorado sure is filled with all sorts of natural beauty.”
“Just wait until we get into Colorado Springs.” I said. “That city should blow your mind if you think this is pretty.”
“I’ll trust your word on that.”
At this point there was a set of rails that followed the highway as it travelled through the hills and valleys. We passed by Larkspur, home of the famous Colorado Renaissance Fair, and shortly after the highway began to follow a hill on the left while the landscape opened up to a wide valley on the right. The highway skirted the valley floor and stuck to the ridge that made up the eastern side, allowing for a really good view of the mountains on the western side. Every ridge and mountain along the way was covered with pine trees.
Passing through the valley and over another ridge we entered the town of Monument, meaning Colorado Springs was just ahead.
I briefly pointed to a ridge to our right. “See that ridge?”
Shining Armor looked out the window. “Yeah.”
“Over that ridge is the Air Force Academy.” I replied. “You should be able to see a few structures over that first ridge, like the Chapel.”
Shining Armor nodded and continued to study the landscape for a glimpse of the Academy, and a moment later I noticed the big stone sign that signified that we had crossed into Colorado Springs.
“I think I saw it!” Shining Armor said as we passed the stone sign.
“Cool, now look ahead of us.” I said. “Everything you see is Colorado Springs. That ridge immediately ahead of us, that valley a few miles off in front of us to the right, and even parts of those tall mountains immediately on the right at the edge of that valley…it’s all part of Colorado Springs.”
“Is Colorado Springs really that big?” Shining Armor asked, almost in disbelief.
“Second largest city in Colorado by population, largest by land area.” I replied and moved into the right lane to exit the freeway. “And unlike Denver, which is surrounded by dozens of suburbs, Colorado Springs is about the only city here.”
Shining Armor simply shook his head. “I had always thought that Equestrian cities were big, but the cities you guys have out here just dwarf anything we have back home.”
I laughed and got on the off ramp for Academy Boulevard. “You should see some of our bigger cities then. Denver’s big but Colorado’s got nothing on places like Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York City.”
I drove a bit up the road towards the Academy and pulled over. “Unfortunately I gotta drop you off here.” I said. “Civilians aren’t usually allowed on base unless they have an appointment or a soldier with them.”
“Understood.” Shining Armor unbuckled himself and opened the car door.
“You have my cell number, right?” I asked.
“Yup.” He nodded. “I’ll have someone give you a call when I’m ready.”
“Alright, take care and I’ll see you later.” I said and my equine friend exited the vehicle and trotted towards the gate.
As I pulled a U-turn I pulled out my cell phone and started making calls. If I was going to be stuck in Colorado Springs for the day I was at least going to make the most of it.
---
Twenty minutes later I was sitting in the food court of the Chapel Hills Mall with a few friends of mine from Colorado Springs, happily enjoying a sub sandwich from Subway. Not nearly as good as a sandwich from Cheba Hut, but Subway is still a pretty good sandwich shop.
“So, what’s it like having a pony for a roommate?” Alan asked as he dug into his lunch. Alan was a tall, skinny, half Asian dude whose energy seemed to know no limits. And by tall I mean basketball player tall.
“It’s different.” I said after swallowing a mouthful of sandwich. “Shining Armor is pretty cool, even for a military commander.”
“He’s military?” Garret asked. Garret could be called a typical scene kid. Chains and metal hanging from his baggy black jeans, long-ish hair combed over to hide half his face, the usual.
“Captain of the Royal Guard, whatever that is.” I replied. “He made it sound like he was pretty important back in Equestria.”
“If he’s hot stuff back there then why is he here?” Garret asked as he took a drink from his soda.
“He’s here to learn about America’s military, or so he says.” I replied, taking another bite. “That’s why we’re down here. He’s taking a tour of the Air Force Academy today and I’m just here chillin’ until he’s done.”
“How long will the tour take?” Alan asked.
“I’m guessing a few hours.” I replied.
“Have any plans to kill that time?” Garret asked.
“Not really.” I replied with a grin. “That’s why I called you guys.”
“Well it’s a really nice day out.” Alan observed. “The views from Palmer Park should be pretty amazing right now.”
I finished my sandwich. “You know a hike through Palmer Park sounds pretty good right about now. Let’s do it.”
We left the mall and headed to Alan’s car and piled inside. He started the engine and took off towards Palmer Park. Getting to the park is rather simple, but because of the way Colorado Springs is laid out, it can be pretty easy to get lost.
Colorado Springs is, in my opinion, one of the most obnoxious places to drive around. Outside of the very center of the city, all the major roads have curves and loop around these two big ridges in the middle of the city and are constantly packed with traffic during the day. It’s one of the downsides to driving around Colorado I think; the roads often have the funniest layout and the signage is often lacking so it can be really easy to get lost in the bigger cities, and Colorado Springs is no exception by any means.
We traveled south along Academy Boulevard and eventually made a right turn towards a small park. Alan turned off onto a road that led up one of the two big ridges. This ridge was Palmer Park. He followed the winding road up the ridge and made a left at another road that followed the top of the ridge until it dead-ended. Alan found a parking spot and we all got out.
From this spot in Palmer Park I could see everything. Pikes Peak was just in front of us on the other side of the city, with Cheyenne Mountain just to the south. Down in the valley downtown Colorado Springs barely stood out. The few towers the city had were half covered by trees and being so high above them they didn’t even look like towers, but instead small stone blocks. A few trail heads lead down into the valleys between the ridges.
“I could never get tired of coming up here.” I said as I stared over downtown at the imposing mountains only a few miles away.
“It’s a pretty great place to get away from the city without actually going anywhere…kinda.” Alan said, locking his car.
“Doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot of people here right now.” I observed.
“Sure doesn’t.” Garret agreed. “So, hiking time?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” I said.
We spent the next hour or so just wandering the various trails that lead up and down the ridges and small valleys that made up Palmer Park, chatting the whole time.
“How long, exactly, is Shining Armor supposed to be here?” Alan asked as we neared the bottom of a trail.
“He said he’d have someone give me a call when the tour’s over.” I replied.
“No, I mean on Earth.” Alan said.
“Oh.” I ducked beneath a low-hanging branch. “I’m not sure actually. I’m pretty sure he’s here for at least the whole school year. Why?”
“It would be kinda nice to get all the guys together and have a party with him.” Garret said.
“I’ll see what I can do.” I replied. “We can probably do something in Denver where most people can get to pretty easy.”
“Denver sounds reasonable.” Alan said, bouncing up and down the trail. “Maybe something over winter break?”
“I’ll have to get his schedule for the holidays and relay it back to you guys.” I said. I sat down on a boulder and felt my pants vibrating. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and read the number. It was unknown but from the area, so I answered it. “Hello?”
“Matt? You there?” It was Shining Armor.
“Yeah.” I replied. “You done already?”
“Yeah, the tour didn’t actually take as long as they said it would.” Shining Armor said.
“Alright, where am I to meet you?”
“I’m supposed to be dropped off at the Chapel Hills Mall in about half an hour.”
“How convenient. Let’s meet at the food court then.”
“Sounds good, see you then.” The line went dead.
“Who was that?” Garret asked.
“Shining Armor.” I replied, putting my phone back into my pocket. “I’m supposed to meet him at the food court of Chapel Hills Mall in about half an hour or so, so maybe we should start heading back.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Alan said and we started making our way back up the ridge and to Alan’s car. The drive back to the mall was uneventful, something that I was grateful for. I would swear that Colorado Springs had it out for me, because almost every time I would drive down here something would happen to either me or my car.
We made it back to the mall, and Garret informed us that he needed to run some errands before heading to work so we bid him a good day and he took off. Alan and I entered the food court and found an empty table near the middle and camped there. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait very long before Shining Armor showed up.
We walked over to greet him. “Hey, ready to head home?” I asked.
“Sounds good. Who’s your friend?” Shining Armor asked.
“Alan, Shining Armor. Shining Armor, Alan.” I introduced the two.
“Nice to meet you.” Alan said. “Gosh I would stick around, but I gotta get going too.”
“Alright man, take it easy.” I said and Alan waved before bouncing off. “Did you get something to eat?” I asked Shining Armor.
“Yeah, they fed me.” My equine friend replied. “We should head back; I still have a few things I need to take care of before classes start.”
“Same here, so let’s go.” I led the way back to my car and we headed back up north.
“So how was the tour?” I asked as I turned onto the on ramp for the interstate.
“The tour was pretty cool.” Shining Armor replied. “I wasn’t allowed to see very much because of some security clearance issues, but what I did see was pretty cool. You guys are so far advanced compared to Equestria it’s mind-boggling sometimes.”
“Hehe, so what did you find out about the military?” I asked, merging with the highway traffic.
Shining Armor frowned slightly. “Not much unfortunately.” He said. “What I did find out was that there’s no existing provision for a pony to enlist in any current branch of your military, and as a result, I wasn’t able to find out if I would be able to join.”
“And that’s the whole reason you’re here, right?”
Shining Armor nodded. “That’s my primary reason for being here. I personally wanted to come to learn about your culture but joining your military is what Princess Celestia expects of me, so that is what I am going to do. After today I’m not so sure if that can happen.”
“Well this is just the air force, and that leaves the marines, the navy, the National Guard, and the army. Maybe you’ll have better luck with one of those branches?”
“Perhaps, but I’m not very sure about that.” He fell silent after that.
I felt sympathy for the pony. His one real task here was just determined to be almost out of his reach with the distinct possibility that it may not happen anyways. I don’t know much about this princess he keeps talking about, but I can’t imagine that she would be pleased to learn about that.
“We’ll figure a way to make this work.” I tried to assure him. “There’s gotta be something we can do.”
“You really think so?” Skepticism dripped from his voice.
“I know so.”
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- DiscoDash · 1.1k words · 55 2 · 2.2k views
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Can't wait for more, and why I can't I sleep. Its 2:07 in the morning
.... Wouldn't Princess Celestia have some deal or agreement or plan or something aside from 'send royal guard captain to America to join the air force'? Some provision, something with the government? A grand tour and interdimensional info packet?
It feels like Army Special Forces (ranger maby heavy infantry) would be a better fit for Shining than Air Force but i know very little about the USAF
Maybe the real training is problem solving and Celestia wants Shining to work out military enlistment on his own.
Then celestia comes along and threatens to send every one to the moon!
2329536 Omai.