20. October
[October]
6:50pm
Somewhere offshore
Thirty minutes into their voyage
Kate and two of the three ponies sat across from each other in the cabin. They have agreed to lay low as Lucas blindly headed Northeast of where they had begun based off vague details.
Up on the bridge, Lucas—or Captain White as he liked to be called on occasion—aligned the boat and manually steered down a certain path, a straight shot to an undisclosed location. Undisclosed meaning that he had no idea where this place was. Judging by their heading, it was in the middle of nowhere, far from land.
Cadence sure was eager to reach this obscure location without even telling him why. Kate wasn't much help either, for she gave a bunch of numbers to Stanley for him to find on his portable GPS. He didn't have a chance to actually punch in the numbers to his GPS to see where this place was, but there was a reason for that. A GPS device sends a signal of compressed data to satellites in orbit, thus emitting radio waves, interfering with Twilight and Cadence's magic.
Smart of him to know that. It sure saved the trouble of more hurt for the ponies they were trying to help. Besides, there was already a built-in GPS on the console of the bridge, a more sophisticated model, right next to the radio transmitter. The one Stanley owned, the one he carried with him, the one that caused the boat to crash, was of his personal possessions. It had no official qualities associated with the boat itself.
But, the fishing boat GPS was of official make, a reliable addition to the many necessary instruments aboard the ship, even in harsh waters. The problem would be to turn it on without harming the ponies in the process. Maybe there was a way to modify the frequency and still maintain an accurate map of where they needed to go, decreasing the output to longer wavelengths. Based on what little information Twilight and Cadence said about magic and EM, he thought that if the signal was weak enough and in short bursts, but still able to make it to space without being corrupted, then it wouldn't be so bad.
Sure, both devices transmitted radio waves, but the radio box was the only one of the two instruments that can control the flow of information.
Looking at the radio bolted onto the center control panel, an idea surfaced. Brilliant, but complicated. His plan was to combine the radio to the GPS system, calibrating certain functions of the two systems thereby modifying their true purposes to create a new invention. If it could be done, it would save a hell of a lot of trouble. He didn't want a repeat of EM attacks on the magical ponies.
He was glad to have sufficient knowledge of electrical engineering and some training in naval navigation. That's what got him hired in the first place. Stanley was hired for the same reason. There was no way he would let his condition get in the way or bring him down. What he would give to rid himself of sclerosis for good.
All he needed was were tweezers, pliers, copper wiring, some tape, and a someone the steer the boat for him.
Outside the bridge, Rainbow Dash did a few flybys near the windows like an air traffic control tower. Lucas followed the blue blur to the rear of the boat as she flew in circles, doing a few stunts and rolling with skillful precision.
- - -
Rainbow finally got the chance to fly.
A whole day cramped in a house was enough as it is, and there was no way on Earth she was going to sit in that tiny living compartment beneath the boat with her friends. That was pushing it too far.
The freedom gave her the time to practice of some moves to pass the time.
“Hey Rainbow!” a voice shouted from below.
Skidding to a complete stop and snapping her head to the cry, she found the Lucas human waving up at her. As the boat continued on speeding away, she broke her hover and flew parallel with the ship.
“What's up?” she called back.
“Come down here,” said Lucas.
Rainbow's grin transformed into a stiff representation of a sardonic frown.
“Oh nu uh!” She shock her head vigorously. “I'd rather stay in the air. This thing is a death trap to pegasi like me.”
“But I need your help.”
Striking the mare's inner chords, she stopped from sprinting away. Help? What does he possibly need my help for? Pondering for no longer than ten flaps of her wings, she began to drift closer to the boat. In such a situation, she'd do anything to keep herself useful until the were home safe.
Reluctantly, she did as she was told. Lowering her flight path, she did one last flip before landing on the boat. Anchoring her four hooves on the deck, she wobbled as the ship's forward momentum threatened to pull her off her hooves.
“You alright?” Lucas asked as he walked up to her.
“I don't like boats.”
“You're not the only one. Now come on, I need you to help me with something.” The captain walked up the steps and disappeared through the stained glass door of the bridge. Rainbow took cautious steps to follow. Upon making it to the door frame, she paused, unwilling to enter to small room.
“In here.”
Right then, Rainbow trumped her phobia of small spaces by taking a deep breath. She pressed on, finding Lucas on his knees with tools in his hands.
“Uh...s-so...what do I do?” Rainbow muttered.
“How would you like to drive the boat?” was his response. He patted the leather chair on the left most side of the room.
Rainbow's eyes were a mix of doubt and glee.
“Really?”
“Really really.”
The pony had a watchful eye on his expression, checking for signs of sincerity, hoping it was no joke. She didn't detect the slightest change to convince her otherwise.
Rainbow slowly crawled to the chair and hopped on, squeaking under her weight. From that elevated position, she could see out the windows where the wide world wavered beyond. That feeling of control and security—like that of flying high in the clouds—inflated within her to counterbalance the undivided fear of tight spaces and volatile surfaces connotative to her being, giving her strength to cope with the rocking motion jarring her brain.
Plus, the chair was as comfortable as a cloud.
“All I need you to do is steer the boat straight ahead,” Lucas explained, easy enough for her understand. He wrapped his fingers around the glimmering petrified wood of the wheel protruding from the metal panel in front of her. “Hold on to the wheel. Don't let it slide one way of the other on its own.” He then pointed at a circular slate of glass with a needle pointing in a certain direction. “This here is the compass. You see the arrow pointing the NE, that's North East. Make sure you stay that route.”
Rainbow nodded and obeyed his every command. After getting the hang of the sway and his instructions, she felt a little bit of thrill shoot up her spine, tingling her brain with newfound delight. Her mouth cracked into a grin.
“This is awesome,” she mumbled to herself.
In her mind, there were many different kinds of awesome. This was awesome number seventeen. She was actually controlling where the entire boat goes just by turning the wheel right or left. Ponies of Equestria did have boats with similar functions, but not on this level. There were so many levers and buttons all over the slanted panels that made up the ships controls. It was like she was driving a futuristic version of Equestrian vessels, whether it be blimp yachts or ships of the Celestia's Royal Navy Guard.
Lucas stifled a chuckle as Rainbow's eyes lit up, enjoying her new position as his substitute. Returning to the radio, he unscrewed the bottom of the machine and pulled out several wires and the motherboard laded with a complex structure of microchips, tiny transistors, and the receiver. Amazing how technology has improved in the last decade.
Next with the GPS, he unopened the thin covering underneath. Working his magic with improvisation and skill, he brought both devices together in a tangled mess of different colored cables. He removed the rubber sheets of the red wires and added a new line with the extra copper he conveniently found in the tool box. At least it came in handy for once.
Using a combination of masking tape, pliers, a flathead screwdriver, his shoe laces, and elementary knotting skills, the connection was almost complete. Just one more detail and done.
With the two devices turned off, he twisted the many knobs in a particular order, tweaking the settings to the desired amount.
Done.
First up, a test.
“I'll be right back.”
Lucas left without giving Rainbow a chance to say anything. She looked at the mess of wires hanging out of the strange devices and undulating around each other, connected to a green plate that looked like a shrunken city. It looked like the work that her friend Rarity on a bad day of sewing dresses, only with each thread ten times larger and made of copper.
Now Rainbow was alone, remaining as quiet, going against her usual outmatched nature of agility and toil for adventure. All around the ship was a three-hundred-sixty degree view of nothing but the dunes of a free flowing fortune by bewitching foresight. Brewing on the north horizon were dark clouds forming a super cell high in the atmosphere. A tingling drizzle rained down on the window as the wind picked by a few kilometers per hour.
Another storm was on its way. This would pose some problem for their journey. Hopefully they'd beat it before it hit.
Shortly after leaving, Lucas returned, but he wasn't alone. Standing in the doorway, Twilight and Cadence joined him in tow. Beyond them was Kate, overlooking the whole room with how tall she stood over her friends.
“What is it, Lucas?” Twilight questioned with considerable curiosity. She noticed Rainbow Dash on the captain's chair. “Wait, is she steering the boat?”
Kate and Cadence here wondering the same thing.
“Yeah, I needed a replacement so I could work on this. Anyways, do you see this?” He gestured to the weird mishmash of wires that looked like some crude excuse for a practical network for receiving any sort of digital data. “Since I need to use the GPS to know where we are going and since they transmit radio waves, I thought I'd hook it up to the ship's radio and lower the frequency.”
“The radio can do that?” Kate said.
“Well yeah, it's really easy. What do you think these numbers are? They're a certain channel tuned to different frequencies.”
Kate now felt stupid for asking, but nodded in understanding.
“And connecting both system will allow you to use that device for our safety? By changing the frequency?” Twilight added. A genius idea like that deserved understanding from someone equally as clever as Lucas.
“Exactly!”
“Again, remind me to give you a bonus.” Kate's impressed smile sealed the deal. Lucas' only acknowledgment was a scratch of the neck and a blush.
“I just want to test it first so I know I got it right. I didn't want to do it secretly, and if anything went wrong...well...that wouldn't be good.”
“You have my consent,” Twilight chimed.
“Mine as well,” Cadence sang.
“Right then, here we go.”
Lucas turned on the radio first. So far so good. No explosions yet. The GPS came next. As both instruments booted up, Twilight and Cadence didn't feel a thing. To make sure, he typed in their position in the keypad. The pixels of the old monitor lit up, showing an arrow icon at the center, representing the boat, and the surrounding locations, which was blank, indicating nothing but ocean.
Checking to see any reaction by the ponies, nothing happened. Perfect!
“Yessss!” Lucas celebrated with fist pump. “It works! Now all I need is the coordinates.” The jovial captain brought up the GSP data on screen. He turned to Kate thing time. “Do you remember what it is?”
“Yeah, it's uh... 37 degrees, 50.46 minutes South, and 179 degrees, 59.99 minutes East.”
Quickly typing in the numbers, the computer transmitted the coordinates at the speed of light, but took a little whole longer to display the image. Even before the results finished drawing the map on screen, Lucas recognized the last set of numbers faster than the computer.
“Are you kidding me?” he gave an amused smirk. “That's like...right on the International Date Line.”
This time, it was Kate's turned to be surprised. She shrugged. “Coincidence maybe?”
“I still don't know how the hell do you know all that,” he teased. “You don't even understand global coordinates.”
“I don't know, I guess I—“
*beep*
The monitor sounded off, cutting the talk short and bringing their attention back to the GPS. Three lines slowly converged on the screen to a single pixel, pinpointing the exact location. One for longitude, one for latitude, and the other a line was a course needed to sail there. With the lower frequency, it was fair for the chunks of data to load slowly. Lucas analyze their heading by pointing at the glass screen in order make a correction to their trajectory.
“Cool, we're more than halfway there. Alright Rainbow, turn right and set a course Northeast for another fifty-seven kilometers.”
The pegasus gave him dumb look as if he gave him some alien code.
“Never mind.” Lucas manually turned the wheel a few degrees and locked it in place by manually tying his other show laces to the console. There was no autopilot, hence needed the assistance of Rainbow to keep the boat level. “There, I invented autopilot.” He laughed at his own joke. “You are relieved of your duty, Captain Dash.”
“Yes sir,” she saluted. Her simulated discipline tugged the corner of his grin. “By the way, what does GPS stand for?”
“Global positioning system. It's kinda complicated,” he said, twirling his hands in circles. He then closed the red toolbox, turning to address everyone. “But...we have some time for that. There are things we need to discuss.”
- - -
Below the deck of the boat, squeezing shoulder the shoulder inside the cabin, the five sat in crude formation. Kate and Cadence on the bed, Lucas and Twilight on the floor, their backs against the wall. Rainbow refused to place her whole body the cabin completely, choosing to stay outside. Though with compartment door open, she was close enough to hear her friend's voices, laying her back on the stairs.
They made it work. While not entirely comfortable, it had to do.
“Now that we're in the clear,” the captain began. “can you tell us what's really going on? I noticed you've been getting us to rush since the Freaky Friday magic spell something or other. I only ask because we've been through a lot lately and we wanna know if it was really necessary to hurry things along. Why do we need to push ourselves so hard? I thought we were just trying to avoid getting caught.”
The face Cadence made suggested a long awaited confession.
“As you may already know, we are not from your world. Because we do not belong here, we must return to our own world before it's too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“The method we took to get here was by a highly complex teleportation spell. I have created a portal that brought us here from the Crystal Empire. But as portals go, ours is getting weaker,” she answered. “It is located at this exact place we are heading to now. Every minute the portal is active, it slowly seals in on itself and eventually...it will close completely.”
Lucas was nearly speechless, sucking on his lips as he squirmed around on the damp carpet.
“Why didn't you mention this before!?”
“I only just found out not too long ago, shortly after retuning to my own body, in fact. I now remember the final memory minutes, even seconds before teleporting to this world. That may explain why I'm worried whether or not we will make it before the portal closes.”
“But all you said we have to do is go to this secluded location in the middle of nowhere, but you never said anything about a point of no return. That would have made much more sense back on the beach.”
“I regret not informing you of this matter before. I'm sorry.”
Lucas and Kate needed to hear what else the Princess had the spill, for there was much ore to be said. Even Twilight was eager to tell them the full story.
“You could be less vague and tell us what you know, and why you're really here.”
The pink alicorn presses a hoof to her chest and rid her throat of lump, preparing to speak.
“To begin, Twilight Sparkle was invited to the Crystal Empire a few days ago. She received a letter from Princess Celestia, Equestria's noble leader, notifying her of a great opportunity. Twilight was granted access to the entire library at Crystal Empire, known as the Crystal Archives, including section off-limits to ordinary ponies. The day she arrived, which as it turns out was yesterday morning along with Rainbow Dash and her friend Pinkie Pie, I joined her in exploring the lost knowledge of the Empire and its history. After skimming through countless shelves, volumes upon volumes of written records, we found what appeared to be a crystalline door that we thought lead to a different part of the Archives. It wasn't until after entering this door when we realized that it was only a small room of old texts.”
“We learned that this section was long forgotten in the many centuries of its burial. We simply gave it the name, the Crystal Chamber. It was an amazing collection of old scrolls and spell books we never knew existed. We were so excited to have discovered such a treasure of ancient knowledge and history, so perfectly preserved after so long. Twilight and I were quite overwhelmed by the find. Rainbow Dash, not so much.”
“Well, once we passed the initial speechless joy upon finding the remarkable room, we began going through many of the oldest scrolls we could find. Strangely enough, the oldest were several thousands of years old, long before the reign of Nightmare Moon and even before King Sombra.”
The two humans each raised an eyebrow, confused by that last part of the story. Cadence took notice and briefly cleared her throat.
“Oh, um, Nightmare Moon was a dark entity that took control of the overflowing negative emotions of Princess Celsetia's sister, Princess Luna, turning her into corrupt mare of darkness who attempted to cover all of Equestria in the night's shadow forever. Her reign of power didn't last very long. Many battle took place and lives lost, but she was eventually defeated by Princess Celestia using the Elements of Harmony. Both Nightmare Moon and Luna were banished to the moon for a thousand years, only to return a few year ago to continue her reign. Twilight here, helped defeat her and free Princess Luna from the curse.”
“I embody the Elements of Magic,” Twilight jumped in. “The sixth element that completes the Elements of Harmony. Five of my closest friends hold the others, Rainbow Dash included.”
“What's her element?” Kate beat Lucas into asking.
“The Element of Loyalty.”
Lucas' initial instinct was to laugh out loud at how absurd and bull that sounded, but refrained to no more than a chuckle. A thousand year was just plain ridiculous. Giving it some thought, it did put some justice on her decisions to defend her friends.
“That explains a lot.” This earned a glare from the blue mare. Lucas ignored her and motioned with a hand. “And this...King Sombrero guy...?”
“King Sombra. There's not much to say about him, other than he was dark despot who took over the Crystal Empire, eventually defeated twice. Once by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna a thousand year ago. A second time by the Elements of Harmony and myself.”
“Well,” Lucas wrinkled his nose. “He's got to be one of the worst tyrants if you ask me, seeing you can overthrow him that many times.”
“Tell me about it.” Cadence rolled her eyes.
He and Kate nodded with quite a history to fathom. Lucas resume the conversation. “Go on.”
“Of course...where was I?”
“You were saying how you found scrolls...in some secret room...”
“Ah yes, we dug up a number of ancient scroll older than Equestria itself. Several contained fascinating information of the origin of the crystal ponies, but one was a spell. A teleportation spell to be exact. A spell that would allow magic users to travel between worlds. It was very complex for a unicorn, but in my case, the spell could be done with relative ease compared to others by using my level of magic.
“We are here because of that very spell. I suggested we give the spell a try while Twilight observed. However, the problem came when a certain somepony interrupted my concentration while I was at the height of forging the spell, causing a spike in my energy output and the magic to go wild.”
Cadence stopped there. She angled her head at a bored pegasus, slumped against the stairs while trying to act exhausted. The humans and purple unicorn followed her gaze. It took a few seconds to realize that all eyes were on her and Rainbow Dash sat up straight.
“What?” she said, shrugging her feathers.
“Hm,” Kate hummed, amused that the fault was placed on her. “What a surprise,” she said with a sarcastic chuckle.
“What? What is it?” Rainbow repeated. She was now staring back at her friends, more confused than usual. “Come on, I know it's about me. Don't leave me hanging.”
“You're partly responsible for bringing us here,” Cadence stated.
“I am?”
“Yes. As I was explaining to them about how and why we came to this world, it is because you came crashing into the Crystal Chamber while I was preforming a teleportation spell. It malfunctioned, bringing you, Twilight, and I here, to this world, over the face of the ocean.”
“Oh.”
Rainbow flattened her ears, dejected. It pained her to be at fault for putting the Princess and her best friend Twilight in mortal danger. Her lips began to quiver, the stares now piercing her soul. The only words she could muster were along with a nervous smile were, “I'm sorry.”
“I have already forgiven you,” said Cadence.
The glum pegasus snapped up. “Really?”
Even Twilight was a bit puzzled for Cadence to forgive so quickly, but she understood why. Look where it has led them? They have made a great breakthrough in the art of teleportation and in the discovery of human beings. If Rainbow hadn't gone and messed everything up, they wouldn't have gained incredible insight into the world of humans, no matter how small their reach. At least, it was incredible in Twilight's eyes.
“Yes.” The alicorn nodded with warm smile.
“O-okay,” Lucas stuttered to start. “Everything you just said sounds like fantasy fiction to me...” A pause gave emphasis to his next few words. “But I believe you.”
“Me too,” Kate seconded.
“So let me get this straight, all this was because some mishap that Rainbow Dash caused while preforming an ancient spell that would have brought you here anyways.” The captain crossed his arms and leaned back.
“I believe so.”
“If I may hazard a guess, if she hadn't busted in on you, the spell would have worked properly and would have teleported you somewhere else? Somewhere safe? And not over a big ocean?”
“Yes.”
“Never meeting you?” he added, the connections coming together. “And none of this would have happened?”
“I wouldn't say it like that,” Cadence caught on to his disappointment coming from him again, which she hoped he'd show less of. “If the spell did go perfectly, I may have teleported alone and in a highly populated area. The situation may have been dramatically reversed, and by the way Stanley had described your authorities, I would have been captured and experimented by your government.”
A pause floated between then group.
“Wow...okay...” Lucas ran a hand through his hair. “I didn't think of it that way.”
“I believe it's fair to say that if Rainbow Dash had not done what she did, the outcome may have been very different and our lives may have taken a dramatic turn for the worst.” With her logical conclusion to relieve spirits, it did the trick. The five of them cringed at the thought of local government involvement and media breaking out to the world, while reveling in each others company knowing it didn't.
Lucas finally split the silence to continue analyzing past events. Kate let him do all the talking.
“So if this portal closes before you we get there, you'll be stuck here forever?”
“I'm afraid so.”
“But didn't you say you have the required magic now? Why does that matter if all you need to do is go back through the portal before it closes?”
“Because the portal is unstable. It is too weak for us to travel through it in one piece. I must strengthen the spell's properties and maintain a stable energy field for us to make it through safely.”
“So you're saying there's been a portal in these exact coordinates all this time? Then why didn't you go back through it at the time after teleporting here when it was more...you know...stable? Why fly all the way to shore from there?”
“That's just it, we didn't know what happened at the time. The spell cause temporary amnesia, scrambling our most recent memories. A minor side effect. So, by the time we fell through and were deposited on the other side, we had no idea what was going on.”
“That's why were waiting the spell's side effects to wear off.” Twilight chimed in. “Our memories came back to us one at a time through visions.”
“What? When did this happen?”
“Oh yeah,” Kate looked at Lucas. “You weren't there when it happened. It was like some weird psychedelic mind dump like watching a very fuzzy movie inside your eyes.”
“W-wha?” The captain humorously cocked in head.
“Pfft, never mind.”
“O~okaaay...not gonna bother.”
“So how do we ensure getting to the portal in time.”
“Well we're not gonna sit here wasting all this time talking, let's kick this party into high gear.” The group shuffled to to stand, but as he finished that sentence, they halted. He noticed that after his horrible attempt at humor, the awkward embarrassment lingered for longer than he wanted to take. “Um...forget it. Let's—“
*Thud*
Lucas froze. The fall of a muffled sort echoed behind him. He turned, finding his friends equally frozen. So it wasn't his imagination after all.
All eyes pivoted to the room at the back of the cabin, where the sound presumably originated from. When a low-pitched grunt stirred behind the half closed door, Kate was the first to spring forward.
“Stanley!”
As she and Twilight entered the room, Stanley lay flat on his stomach on the floor, clenching his leg.
“Arrgh,” the injured man gurgled again. He felt something pull him up from the waist, a wince pained his expression. Opening his eyes, the face of his savior stared back like sparkling glitter.
“Let's sit you back up, Stanley. Easy now.”
“Ugh, what ha—happened?” he mumbled.
“You fainted, out cold for an hour,” Kate purred. “You gave us quite a scare dropping like that. For a while there, I thought you fell into a coma.”
“Welcome back, buddy,” Lucas tenderly uttered across the corridor. “How do you feel?”
“Like hell.” Stanley pressed a fist to his pounding forehead.
“You'll get used to it,” his older cousin chaffed. “We all will eventually.” A brief pause gave the man the opportunity to move things along. “Just so you know, we're on a tight timeline and I need to speed the boat up.”
“Why?”
“They'll tell you.” Lucas gestured at Twilight, Cadence, and Kate encircling the navigator for supportive comfort. With that, he skipped out of the cabin, jumping over Rainbow Dash, and vanishing to the surface.
- - -
After about another ten minutes sailing out on the water with increased acceleration, going an average of twenty knots, they were nearing their destination.
Only a tenth of a kilometer or so and—
*Pop* *Pop*
*Clank*
Lucas jumped at the noise from behind. It scratched his ears relentlessly in and out. He quickly ran to the door to check the source, screaming from back of the boat to discover a gray smoke rising from the water.
A pair of footsteps ran up the stairs from the cabin, also having heard the crackling sparks of snapping metal. Kate rushed to the stern to check it out.
“Shit,” Lucas hissed as he walk up next to the woman. He huffed the agitated air out his nose to his affliction, glaring at the smoke. “I was hoping that wouldn't happen.”
“What do we do now?” asked Kate, sharing the worry.
“Well, we can't go anywhere with the engine blown.” He shrugged discontentedly. “That's it then, we're stuck.”
“What happened!?” asked a tomboyish voice, turning to find the rainbow-haired pegasus trotting up from below deck.
“The boat died, and now we're adrift.”
“That doesn't sound good,” Twilight added as she, too, ascended the steps to see what's going on.
“Couldn't be any more right. Let's not start panicking just yet.” Lucas put his hands on his hips and scanned the surround seascape.
“How much further?”
“A-about a hundred meters.” Twilight could see the human's eyes searching for something out on the water as he hesitated his answer. “If we're this close to the portal we should see it by now. I don't see anything.”
“What's going on?” Surprisingly enough, the last new voice came from Stanley. The crippled navigator limped his way over to them while Princess Cadence aided his broken stance.
“As you can see,” his cousin pointed at the charred smoke steaming from the rear of the ship. In addition to what was seen as a huge problem, a particular odor contaminated the air. The type of smell that could only be known as a highly dangerous substance. Gasoline.
“We're leaking gas, too. At least there's no fire, from what I can tell.” His suggestive remark did no justice to their new problem.
“Have we arrived yet?” Cadence finally got the chance to ask.
“It's what I told Twilight, we should be able to see it from here, not a hundred meters from where we are now. But nothing that looks like a portal.” A grumpy grimace took over. “So where is it?”
Another detail in which Cadence neglected to mention. All she had to do was crane her neck back, looking up at a steep angle. She smiled to have found what they were look for all along. A way home.
“Look up.”
“What?” Lucas saw her gaze pointed skyward due East. It was then that a gasp from the lavender unicorn inflated her lungs.
“Up there! Look!” Twilight repeated, squealing with delight.
Lucas follow the gazes of all who were staring directly at the same thing. High above, a bright as day, was a glowing orb of light giving off a blue tinge, fluctuating in intensity. The luminous portal Cadence told them about a fifteen minutes earlier, floated on a single point in space.
“Oh wow,” his lips murmured. “How did I miss that?”
“Quick guys, let's go!” Rainbow Dash launched into the the air. Assuming her friends were right behind her, she flew on. She was about to speed far away what a shout pulled her back.
“WAIT!” Lucas roared, throwing his arms in the air. “Not so fast! Don't leave your friends behind!” He took a second to calm down, facing the equines still grounded on the boat. “Um,” He examined Cadence. “Aren't you gonna fly with her?”
“My wings were burned out during my flight to shore. I guess I forgot to tell you.” A sheepish smile was her apology. “Twilight rode on my back during our journey, making it much more painful to carry both our weight.”
“Okay okay, so how are you going to get up there?”
“We fly.”
For the first time that day, Lucas face palmed. “Obviously, but you just said—“
“Come on guys,” Rainbow yakked as she carefully swooped back down to the boat to hover. “What are we waiting for?”
“Hold on one moment.” Cadence chimed. “There is something I need to do first.”
Cadence's elegant pink wings unfolded slowly, letting them hang off her back, stretching to the floor. She took one long deep breath. Her body glowed in all her vibrancy and a swish motion of her mane as she flicked her head back. Those watching squinted their eyes as the light intensified. Her wings suddenly flexed high and flapped a few times for testing measure.
The alicorn was now engulfed in a white cocoon, only to release its light into the sky and burn out in seconds.
The embodiment of beauty and love, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, regally flared her wings out far. The golden slippers and necklace had changed, now more distinctive and declarative than before. Her crown, now twice the size and far more intricate with a larger amethyst gem at the center, was an icon of her magnificence, deserving of worship by her loyal subjects, fit for the highest level of grandeur. The humans, however, were not her subjects. The way she saw it, the truth was the other way around.
A surge of felicity ran throughout her being, perpetual and pure. Her radiant features sang like the heavens, strumming a unique score for those in desperate need of its harmonious melody. Slowly, very slowly, Cadence opened her eyes. For a brief moment, her world filled with a white glow, blinking deep. It soon faded back to her precious purple eyes to look at the world of mystery around her.
Though there was hardly much to see.
With the change complete, now slightly taller than her earlier counterpart, she stood at eye level with the human standing before her. After taking a moment to breathe, she looked at Lucas with calm smile curling up the corners of her lips.
Without a second thought's hesitation, she lowered her head, bowing before Lucas. His entire expression was speechless of what had become of the alicorn, his mind so blown away that no coherence spilled in the form of thoughts. Her wings were larger, same with her horn, which rested gently on his shoulders with her head like royalty honoring him into knighthood, which wasn't too far from the truth. All members of the group shared similar ties with the sudden change, Twilight and Rainbow Dash included. Amazement and disbelief, nothing less.
She then lifted her head high.
“Thank you,” she said delicately. Even her voice sounded majestic, the soothing expectation for a goddess of any kind. “I am eternally grateful for your courage and strength at helping my dear friends and I find our way home. For that, you have my honor and my love.”
Lucas blinked.
The princess lifted her head and looked at Kate and Stanley. “Thank you all. Each of you showed me something new, a kind of friendship I may have never gotten the chance to know without your touch of hospitality.” She nodded once at the woman and the navigator, flushed of proper emotion in her presence.
“Here,” she started again. Charging her horn, she removed the necklace from her chest and levitated it in Lucas' hands. “A symbol of my gratitude.”
The captain's mouth hung wide open. His cousin was no different. Though, Stanley could swear he's seen this in a movie once—only—it was accompanied by uplifting music. It wasn't easy to imagine it playing in his head.
With that exceptional compliment, she motioned for Twilight to hop on her back, and that's just she the mare did. Another flap and the ponies were ready to go.
“This will be our farewell.”
Before Princess Cadence could take off, an idea ticked in his head.
“Wait!”
The pony froze.
“Yes?”
“Wait here.” Just like that, Lucas took off running to the bridge at the other end of the ship with the necklace in hand. Seconds later, he returned, the item in his hands replaced by his old backpack. Unzipping the largest pocket, he took out a book. He then handed it to Twilight. “Here. Take this.”
“Oh no, I couldn't possibly accept—“
“No please, I insist.” He would let them leave without returning the favor. “It's the least I can do for your help, with everything.”
Twilight smiled and the gripped the book with her magic, holding it tight like the innocent school child she was made out to be. She nearly gasped with what she read on the cover. The Outline of History by H.G. Wells. Her smile turned into a full blown grin, as wide that of Pinkie Pie.
“T-thank you.”
“Hey, take care, it's been one hell of a day. Now you gotta go.” He took a few steps back, waving them off.
Cadence readied herself with a kneeling stance, and with one strong push, she kicked her hind legs off the boat and threw herself and her passenger into the air. The swift motion of her wings sent her flying with the autumn wind carrying a howl in her wake, heading off toward the light that which floated high above.
Rainbow Dash waited momentarily to face the humans, now standing side by side by side as they watched the Princess take off. Walking up to Stanley, still in pain and intrepid, she stuck out a hoof at him. The man was confused for no longer than a second, realizing what it meant.
The navigator stuck out his own arm, curled his hand into a fist, and fist bumped her blue hoof. Rainbow smirked when he did that. She was not aware that humans had similar social gestures as a hoof bump.
One last nod and Rainbow was away, rocketing off the deck, doing a few loops, and racing to catch up to Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadence. It felt good to have new companions—no—friends that weren't afraid to bite the bullet, reckless and strange—yes—but responsible.
Lucas White, Stanley Clarke and Katherine Park watch as the figures in the darkening clouds became the shadows of silhouettes, disappearing away. A roar of lightning flashed just above where the portal began to stabilize by the power of unicorn magic. Once the last thundering boom pounded down on them by the glowing light in the sky, it intensified to the brightness rivaling that of the sun, fluctuating, until it broke apart, waned away, and vanished into darkness.
Then...
...silence.
...a long silence.
...a silence long forgotten.
Looking up at the gray cloud beyond, shifting with the storm passing over the fishing boat.
Rain began to fall. A downpour, separating skies apart.
Temperature dropping. Winds howling. Night approaching.
For the sake of all of those who cross his path, Stanley's only hope was to let go of the past, go off the beaten path, and find a new way through. That way, if anything, anything at all, came along to block the road, he would no longer turn around and run from the problem, but work with it. No more insane transgressions, only ideal innocence can save him now.
Colorful creatures of magic and myth was a prime example of such an obstacle. Only this obstacle was no hurdle, but a force of goodwill in disguise, waiting to change him forever. In such a small world, where in all his life, in all the days of rain, in all the nights of cold consolation, and of all the qualms on fellowship, there was resolve.
It just so happens, that's just what he needed.
That's just what they all needed.
The three of them carried an expression seldom shared amongst each other, telling of a living concord of genuine emotion that defined them.
Each sailor walked to the bridge to get out of the onslaught of rain.
Lucas sat down, readjusting for the perfect posture on the leather chair. Looking solemnly at the two newest additions to what he would call a family, scratching his ears and tucking his lower lip under his teeth, he wanted to rejoice in that moment forever.
Ticking in sycn with their heartbeats, the second hand of the analog clock on the wall reminded the crew that it wasn't over, the world hadn't ended yet, and they were still alive. A necessary break between the dream and reality.
Reaching out his hand over the console, past the radio, over the dead gauges, and beyond the aging silver knobs, an orange button waited to be pushed. Directly below, a label read the button's true purpose.
Emergency Beacon.
His index finger hovered a couple centimeters from the button. A genuine pause.
Lucas looked at his crew, his shipmates, his friends.
“For once I'd like to use this for a real emergency.” A sniffle heralded his courage to admit defeat, in order to let go of his failures.
“Are we in an emergency?” said Kate.
“In one way or another.”
They looked at each other for what felt like ages. Seconds turned to several. After several, they smiled.
“Maybe it's about time things changed,” Lucas stated.
Kate and Stanley agreed with a simple nod.
Rubbing his fingers together, the captain pressed the button, broadcasting their location to every local Guard in the area.
Lucas grabbed the radio's microphone, held it up, pushed the button with a thumb, and opened his mouth to speak.
“This is Captain White on behalf of the crew of the Radiance. If anyone is listening, anyone at all, we need some help out here.”
Deep within the Crystal Archives
Sometime early evening
October 15th
Silence reign over and through and out. Twisting like vines, the invisible field of a noiseless sort dominated a small room, one filled with archaic scrolls and timeless information. If conditions were just right, one could hear the humming of the vibrations of air molecules, or the sound of blood flow within one's self.
That's exactly what Pinkie Pie struggled with.
The deflated party pony sat alone at the very center of the Crystal Chamber, expression lonesome and eyes drooping with sadness. A sadness felt once before when presumably betrayed by her friends on her birthday. Unmoving, she stared at the crystalline floor, her reflection staring up at her. This was the last place her friends were before they went missing.
No pony had heard from Twilight, Dashie, or Princess Cadence for almost a full day. A full day was too much time. Enough time that anything could have happened to them, even the bad stuff. Pinkie dared not to think of the possibilities. Where could they be? Are they alright? What happened here in the first place? There was a bright light coming from this room, but when she came to check up on her friends, they were already gone. Are they playing a trick on her?
No. They would never do that to Pinkie. They'd especially wouldn't do that to Pinkamina.
Her most positive of ideas were soon overshadowed by grave scenarios. One of which was a question she continued to ask herself. If I was with them at the time, maybe I could have prevented the terrible-horrible-dreadful-awful-disastrous thing that happened to them. Whatever that thing was.
Though Pinkie Pie's thoughts usually consisted of a universe of sweets and smiles, her mind turned sober when she turned blue, allowing her to properly access the intellectual—and slightly insane—part of her brain, producing words too smart for even Twilight to understand and scenarios too bizarre to even be considered plausible. One scenario of which involved green space ponies and another involved giant talking monkeys.
That last one could make for a good story.
If anything, she wondered it they were on their way back right this second. Oh what she'd give to tell them how much she feel bad for not being there for them. She has waited too long without much progress in her friends whereabouts. Twilight is probably worried sick about Spike and Rainbow is probably doing what she can to fly home. For Princess Cadence, she will probably figure out what happened and fix everything again like a few incidents recently. She's a really really really really really nice princess. She can do anything.
But how much longer do they intend to keep me waiting? Pinkie asked every five seconds nothing happened as her posture remained under the weather and in stasis.
- - -
Beyond the double-doors of the chamber, the rest of her friends stood watch. Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy kept their distance. It pained them to see Pinkie like that, but this time, it wasn't their doing. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were missing, and they've search all over the castle for them.
They even tried talking to Pinkie, to some temporary success, but she would return to a sad state minutes later.
The three ponies were called to the Crystal Empire on such short notice, at first assuming no real value to visit the nation after already spending a month's vacation in the castle just a few weeks ago. Little did they know the call was far more pressing.
Once they arrived, Shining Armor explained what happened. Rarity did everything she could to give Pinkie a shoulder to cry on. Applejack joined the search for the Princess and her friends on castle grounds. Fluttershy cried with Pinkie.
Shining, on the other hoof, was uptight on the unknown whereabouts of her wife and sister. His immediate thought was that somepony kidnapped them. A wild assumption, but being on the tip of his hooves was his job, and after the epidemic of the changeling invasion not too long ago, he had reason to suspect a crime.
It's been over a day and no word of their friends.
Now all they could do was watch the breakdown of their most enthusiastic friend, having exhausted all measures to cheer not only Pinkie Pie, but the group as a whole.
- - -
Pinkie shuffled her hooves occasionally to relieve some tension, but that only helped to do the opposite. With every minute ticking and ticking, every minute stabbing and stabbing at her heart. She hadn't slept since they disappeared, and it showed. Her features blemished with bags under her bloodshot eyes, filling ever more with unhappiness. She tried smiling to keep her composure up, but the thought kept coming. The simple fact of not knowing bounced around in her head like a tiny rubber ball, only she was not in the mood to bounce with it.
*zzt*
A sizzling sound slowly began to rise, kinda like electric static, but Pinkie ignored it. She was focused on staying awake. Even the most hyperactive of ponies needed a break.
*zZzZzt*
The sound returned, only slightly louder. Again, Pinkie brushed it off as a draft seeping from the cracks in the ceiling or from the great hall from the door behind her. She shuddered at an invisible wind that tickled her nose, wiggling her muzzle to scratch it.
*ZZZZT*
For a third time, the sound spliced the air just above her head. Pinkie's ear flicked with excitement, realizing a definitely disturbance in her unusual Pinkie Sense that had little significance. It was then, only then, did she open her eyes for her own to stare back at her through a faded reflection. In contrast, while she was looking down, she saw the divide that was a glowing chandelier hanging silently on the ceiling and a crack in the mirror beneath her hooves.
Wait...that chandelier hadn't been there before. And it's...glowing? Glowing and shifting like Princess Celestia's mane, only with more neon and sparkles. It was a snazzy décor, as Rarity would say, and a bit like the color of the moon, or the color of magic.
This perplexed Pinkie greatly. The entire surface of the chandelier was covered with this stuff, or perhaps, it was made out of this stuff. Blue swirly stuff. Sparkly stuff. Waving like a river, dancing like stars.
It looks nice. Why have I not seen it before?
Her ear flicked a little after several more humming noises pulsed from the lighting fixture. Pinkie though hard on why that stumped her as supper duper strange.
Then it hit her. No, not literally hit hit. No slapping involved, just a sudden realization.
*ZzztWwzzt* *Crack*
As the sounds picked up the pace, further increasing in volume and brightness, Pinkie Pie brought her head up, looking at the bookshelves opposite of her. When another crackling noise, she snapped her head back down at her reflection, the chandelier now undulating like a snake that can pass through and in on itself like mist.
The light spiked to the point where looking at it was painful.
But not for Pinkie.
*CRAAACK*
One last piercing thunder from static shock and the pink Earth pony shot her head directly above to witness a stroke of powerful magic bursting from the ceiling, consuming the chandelier all together and engulfing the room on white.
Before she knew it Pinkie Pie saw a trio of figures materialize before her very eyes and fall towards her. Because it happened so fast, she was not able to get away in time. A mass of ponies dropped directly on top of the pink pony, squashing her down under.
*Thud*
“OOF!”
A series of grunts and gurgles ravaged the walls of the Crystal Chamber. Voices instantly recognized by two ponies running into room.
“What in tarnation!?” Applejack barked as she skid to a stop near light than slowly began to fade like dust. Rarity and Fluttershy joined her in shock not far behind.
A high-pitched ring, known only as unicorn magic, marked the entrance of Shining Armor as he came running to catch the culprits of his sister's kidnappers, his horn on full. Waiting for the light to die down, he could hear the grunts, very familiar grunts, of a mare he held most dear.
Only when the light faded did he get more than a wish.
There, laying on the gloss of the crystalline floor, was Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and, of course, Princess Cadence.
The very sight turn his frown upside down.
“Cadence!” he shouted, running to her aid.
“Twilight!” Pinkie followed with her own fit of giggles after an explosion of pink flooded the purple unicorn's vision.
The two pair of ponies embraced like there was no tomorrow, never once stopping to take a breath. Twilight was used to the tight squeeze of Pinkie hugs after so many before it, but this was a new kind of hug. One filled with intense joy, relief, and guilt. A combination not unheard of, but it was a first for her.
Shining helped Cadence to her hooves. She shook off any excess chill that threaded under her skin from a rapid change in temperature, from a cool southern air to the warmth of the Archives. Having passed between realms so quickly, one would need to adjust eyesight before walking. To her carelessness, she took a step, but dropped, only to be caught in Shining's forelegs for another leg to stand on.
“I thought I'd never see you again!” Pinkie squeaked, letting Twilight after a good ten second hug.
“It's nice to be back, Pinkie.”
“Ya gave us quite a jolt there,” said Applejack, much to her approval by Rarity beside her.
“Indeed! I couldn't possible think of any other form of entry than a teleportation spell to alarm us, darling.” The paper white mare join with a hug the Twilight.
“I've missed you so much, girls.”
“What did you do while you were gone?” Pinkie asked.
“It's a long story.”
The last pony to receive a welcome was Rainbow Dash. Now it would right to assume her diligence and immunity to teleportation spells, but that fall took its toll. It felt like she was bucked in the head real hard by somepony, hitting right where it hurts. She now lay on her back, looking straight up at the ceiling. Only it wasn't she expected to find. Staring down at her was the the blurry image of two great blue eyes and pink flowing mane.
The yellow pegasus said nothing, only smiling.
“Uggh...” Rainbow rubbed her forehead. “That was something.”
As her eye sight improved of the expanse of another few seconds, hoofsteps aproached from nearby. By the time she could see clearly, she was looking up, under the umbrella of smiles from each of her friends. No other sight in the world could make her more happy than she was right then. Euphoria rushed through her, but is seems she learned a thing or two about overreacting to the things
Looks like the spell worked.
More importantly, she was back home.
She'd have to remind herself to be more careful when roaming libraries.
“That was one hell of a day.”
When things go wrong like that, they usually don't send you to dangerous places.
Places bigger than one could even imagine.
Imagined only in the eyes of those who have seen it before.
Before the sunsets and after the storm.
Seen again for the first time.
No one can predict what is to come.
Riding on what was, what is, and what will be.
A life worth living.
Beside friends and among freedoms.
Getting to the edge of the rope.
But...
Picking up the pieces and building anew.
To what do we hold most close to our hearts when all was once lost?
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Fantastic. Beautiful. Need I say more?
-Powers
The end? Oh well, I'm glad it ended with a great ending rather than one of those stories that keeps going on and on until the author doesn't want to write and just abandons it.
I've been here since the first chapter. It's been an awesome story so far, and you've definitely earned yourself a follower after this.
Awesome. Just awesome.
3205930
I couldn't be any more pleased for your support and sticking around since the beginning. It really means a lot to me.
3205930
I wonder how people do can do it; go on and on with a story that really doesn't have an end. I've read many fics that seem to go on and on (Five Score Divided by Four comes to mind), but never have I actually encountered one that was left to die alone by the author that gave it birth and nurtured until they get bored.
3224511 That "once" was a very poor attempt :P
3212417
Kratos Logs comes to mind, an interesting one that was executed uniquely but unfortunately abandoned. Thank you for writing and allowing me this adventure.
3224600
The pleasure is all mine. I'm glad you found the story to your liking.
Thank you for the story :)
GPS is passive device which can not emit any radio signal. All it does is listening to satellite signals and doing tremendous amount of math. Lucas 100% should know this. 
It is nice and it was joy to read it.
Well, of course excluding whole GPS business.
GPS frequency could not be changed. At all. Unless you fly into space and hack GPS satellites :) There are only two GPS frequencies - civil (used worldwide) and military (much more accurate and encrypted, used only by US military). But GPS frequency used does not matter anyway, because...
But overall great story. Thank you again
3262222
You're quite welcome. It was both fun and frustrating to write, with all the madness and reconciliation to be held.
As with the part at the end with the radio and all, I would admit failed in its entirety, but I stand by my denouncement of knowledge how they work in the real world. The logical explanation is that there is none. It's all just made up. You know, a plot element, to move the story along, even when it makes no sense whatsoever. Even though I planned to make the story as realistic as possible, when magic is involved, realism in terms of physics doesn't apply. The only real theme I wanted to show was the characters and their relationships and interactions. It seems my execution of that point has had mixed results.
You're welcome again. I'm glad you liked it.
It was long, I won't lie. I also spent a while procrastinating reading this last chapter just because I don't like long chapters but i'm glad I did read it. I bigger twist would have been to take one or even all three humans into Equestria and see how things turn out there, but this was an excellent way to finish this book.
Looking forward to anything else, that comes up and hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Soulyman
great story I was happy to read it
3290846
Yes, length is not always a good thing, but I'm glad it didn't scare you away forever. I do do the same with recent chapters of other such fics I like to read by my expert skills in the art of procrastination. I have a line of a dozen plus stories I have yet to catch up on, waiting for me to jump back into the world of fantasy. I usually love twists, but because I'm so horrible at writing them myself and the fact I'm afraid of tearing apart a decent, if not predictable story. So I avoided over-complicating things. Thank you for reading. I deeply appreciate it.
3321271
I was happy to write it for you.
I don't remember who said it, but I agree wholeheartedly that the book belongs to the reader. Or in this case, fanfiction.