Author's Note

I got a busy weekend ahead, weather permitting. Wanted to get this chapter up before I went internet-less (possibly) for a few days. Please like/dislike and comment,.. and thanks for reading!

A Unique Departure

The dented and banged-up hull of the small house boat slowly plowed through the icy waters. With the use of a driftwood log that was just up the shore from where Tim’s boat was roughly beached, he had to only put forth a few minutes of hard work to dislodge the hull from the rocks. Luckily, there was no damage to the vessel, just a few more dents and fresh gouges into the thick aluminum hull. After quietly slipping back into the cabin to avoid disturbing the meditating Twilight Sparkle, Tim fired up the boat’s single diesel engine and slowly made his way south along the freezing coastline. He had been alone with his thoughts for more than two hours now, and he felt more resolute in his decision to help Twilight, but now a new thought plagued his thoughts. He was concerned about the statue-still woman sitting cross-legged on the seat next to him.

Twilight had not moved since she entered her state of meditation, but Tim could tell that she was hard at work. Her ivory horn continued to bathe the cabin of the boat in a soft raspberry glow, but now it seemed to pulse and even flicker at times as beads of sweat had now formed on her dark skin. He could see her eyes darting about behind her eyelids and noticed her breathing was shallow, but slightly labored. The whole idea of magic and spells was still very foreign to him, but he could tell what she was doing was very serious and apparently very real. He furrowed his brow in thought, wondering if he should check on her in some way, but he sensed that if he disturbed her it would ruin the work she had already done. Tim clenched the wheel of the boat tighter, causing his knuckles to whiten. Looking away from her, he gazed back out over the bow of the boat through the heavy snowfall.

A sharp gasp from his left drew his attention from the waters ahead of him and he turned toward the magical woman. The glow had faded from her horn and her arms had now relaxed and slumped down and rested on her thighs. Her hands then flexed as she stretched her digits and her eyes fluttered open. She then shook her head and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her face. Tim reached into the pocket of his coveralls and produced a camouflage handkerchief and handed it to Twilight.

“Whew! Oh, thank you, Tim.” She smiled at him, taking the offering and dabbing her forehead, neck and collarbone. She fanned herself briefly, then handed the cloth back to Tim who returned it to his back pocket. Twilight leaned back onto the seat, resting her head and staring up towards the dirty ceiling of the well-used cabin.

“I had no idea that would take so long… I’m sorry I kept you waiting. I had to do some more research in my Dreamscape to make sure I had the proper spells to teleport us- as well as your ship- to my world. I assumed you might be more comfortable if we took something familiar to you with us when we crossed dimensions.” Tim slightly snickered at the reference of his meager boat be called a ship. “I don’t know if I would call this old thing a ‘ship’…” he said, “but I guess I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, let me get this straight… You’re gonna teleport us, AND my boat, into your world? Aint that a little much? I mean, I could just a pack me a bag or something…”

“Oh, no!” Twilight spoke as she stood from her seat, raising her arms above her head stretching her back, causing it to give a series of quiet pops. “It’s not that much more of a problem, I just had to check for a set of spells in the library I have in my Dreamscape to teleport such a large amount of mass between worlds… Do you have a question?” She tilted her head slightly looking at the questioning look on Tim’s face.

“I, uh, I guess I do… A library in your Dreamscape? What exactly is that, if you don’t mind me asking?” The moment the words left his mouth, Tim realized he had just made a mistake… He didn’t know this strange woman long, but he learned quickly that if he asked her about anything pertaining to her magic, Twilight was going to start talking a mile a minute…

“The Dreamscape! I’m sorry, I brought that up forgetting you would have no idea what I was talking about! Every soul-folk can access a self-created world in their mind called a Dreamscape… Most Dreamscapes are simple things, like the inside of a home or a quite meadow in a tranquil forest. I have always been rather advanced in my magic, even at a young age, so my Dreamscape is rather detailed- I have a mansion with a large library in which I conduct my more in-depth studies where I can spend my time more efficiently. My mansion rests on a hill overlooking a small town with a view of the Baltimare coast in the distance and I even have a butler who brings me refreshments when I feel parched. I’m still not sure why I even have a butler doing such things, seeing as no matter what I eat or drink only subdues the feeling of being thirsty or hungry, it doesn’t actually resolve it. I usually come out of my meditation even more thirsty than I actually felt to begin with, but I’m sure I could probably find a spell that would suffice more so than the illusion of eating or drinking…. I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

Tim smiled slightly at how adorable this woman could be when she got wrapped up talking about her passion. She blushed slightly while looking down at her hands. “I’m sorry I get carried away so easily, but my life revolves around my magic. But, um, long story short, my Dreamscape is a place I go to study or to simply refresh my memory of a spell I need at the moment. I did find what I was looking for, so after a brief rest should be able to cast the necessary spells to transport me, you and your ship, I mean boat, to Equestria. Actually, I even found an ideal location for us to arrive at; a small lake in a forest known as the Whitetail Woods, just outside of the Everfree Forest. Do you happen to have any tea for us to partake of? I could use a drink about now.”

Tim thought for a moment… Tea was not something he kept a lot of on hand, and he was fresh out to the best of his memory. Wanting to offer the woman something more than just collected rainwater stored in old plastic jugs, he quickly remembered his ‘secret stash’ of drink he kept below deck for the nights his memories came back to the surface. “Here, hold this wheel tight and make sure none of these gauges start bouncing around too much… I’ll be right back.” Stepping away from the console, Twilight cautiously took the wheel and held tight to it, her eyes scanning the faded and cracked glasses of the gauges before her. Tim opened a small compartment in the floor under the bench seat and produced what appeared to be a jar wrapped in a piece of old, red flannel material. He turned to Twilight, removing the cloth from the jar, revealing a transparent purple liquid with a liberal handful of sliced blueberries inside it.

“I keep a jar or two of this just for myself, most of what I make I usually trade to the few-and-far-between folks I come across when I travel up and down the coast following the fish and the wild game. A full quart of good liquor goes a lot farther than a fist full of dollars out here.” Tim then slowly removed the ring from the jars mouth and then popped the sealed lid up, holding the jar close enough to Twilight’s nose for her to smell the sweet scent of berries and the slight sting of the powerful liquid. “This is my last one, and I’m guessing that maybe we could consider this a celebratory drink… celebrating the making of new friends and on my firm decision to help you and your people.” Tim raised the jar to his lips and took a long slow drink of the sweet, yet slightly burning contents. He hissed through his teeth, smiling wide and offering the jar to Twilight.

“To new friends and new adventures!” She exclaimed as she took the glass jar and took much too large of a swallow than she should have. Coughing and covering her mouth with her free hand, she passed the jar back to Tim who was now laughing whole-heartedly at the woman.

“Easy, gal! That drink there might be sweet on the nose, but it does have a little bite to it!” He continued to laugh as he took the jar and resealed the lid before wrapping it back up in its flannel covering and sitting in down on the console of the boat. Wide-eyed, Twilight coughed one last time then smiled up at the grinning man. “Well, Tim… that was a delicious drink, but the burn in it is worse that the special reserve cider we get from my friend’s apple farm back home. Whew!” She continued to smile at him as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I think that was just the pick-me-up I didn’t know I needed to get our journey underway.” She looked out over the water before the boat, her eyes scanning the deeper water a bit off shore. “There. Make way for that deeper water of to our right. If my calculations are correct, we will need to be far from the shore to allow for a more preferable location to perform my spells. Also, I need a sturdy piece of rope…” She looked around the cabin found what she was looking for- a moderate length of rope attached to a life preserver that hung upon the wall of the cabin near the door.

“This will do nicely.” She stated as she pulled the rope tight between her hands, testing its strength and, if she were honest, seeing if it was dry-rotten from lack of use. She untied the round orange and white striped preserver from the rope, laying it in the seat behind her. Twilight then took the rope and wound it around her waist twice before tying a large, secure knot. Tim stared at her yet again, wondering what was going through her mind. Checking her knot one last time, she looped the remaining length of rope in her hand and opened the door to the boat's bow. She stopped and then turned to face Tim.

“Now Tim, what I am about to do might be a bit unsettling for you, but I need you to trust me.” She smiled softly, and Tim could almost swear he saw a bit of worry in her eyes. She brushed her bangs out of her face once more as she stepped out onto the snowy deck of the boat. “I promise I will keep us safe. Before you know it, we will be safely in Equestria.” She closed the door behind her, making her way to the boat’s railing and securing the remaining rope to it. Keeping the boat on the course he was directed to, Tim shook his head as he gulped nervously.

“God, I hope she knows what she’s doing…” Tim eased the throttle of the boat back all the way into neutral, letting the vessel idle as they had reached the deeper water off shore. He looked to Twilight, waiting anxiously to see what the woman was going to do next.

Twilight stood stock still; her hands in a prayer-like pose front and center of her chest. Her head was tucked down and Tim noticed the heavy, wet snow starting to accumulate on her hair and clothing. Suddenly, her hands shot straight out to her sides, resembling a human letter “T” jutting up from the deck. At once, the wind had started to blow. Slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed. Soon her hair began to swirl and whip about her face, all the snow removed from her body and her clothing flapping in the strong breeze. The boat suddenly listed to the right and Tim lost his footing briefly. Gripping the wheel tightly in one hand and the throttle lever in the other, he averted his eyes from the scene on the bow of his boat and looked out to the distant shore on his left. The tree line was starting to ease around away from the window as he noticed the boat was beginning to turn clockwise on the water’s surface. Leaning over towards the window and looking down, he noticed something odd about the water.

Saying the water was smooth as glass was an understatement. The water looked almost solid it was so slick, with the small exception of a slight curling of the water as the hull continued to turn on its surface. The boat rocked again, violently this time. Concerned about his new friend out on the bow, he turned his gaze to her again, his jaw dropping at the sight. Twilight was floating, literally FLOATING a foot or so above the deck of the boat, her arms gracefully swaying and weaving in a slight rolling motion above her head. Amazing him even further a soft beam of sunlight slowly formed around her. Tim stepped to the door, opening it, and looked towards the sky.

The clouds were swirling with the motions of Twilight’s arms, creating a small opening in the center of the spiral allowing the light to shine down on the gyrating woman. The clouds gathered speed and began to take on an eerie, deep-purple glow. Clap of thunder and a streak of hot-white lightning broke Tim from the trance he found himself in. He felt himself stumble once more and noticed how the boat was spinning faster now, the water around it still unmoving and reflecting the glow of the sky above. All at once, the water rippled and seemed to grow upward, forming a bowl-shaped hill under the spinning boat. Another bolt of lightning struck the water ahead of the bow and his attention was once again on Twilight. Her arms were still weaving about above her head, tighter together and higher than they previously were. The glow from her horn was intense, so much so it hurt his eyes to look at it. If there was ever a moment Tim felt afraid for his life, it was now. The thunder and lightning quickened in frequency and it darted across the sky like a neon spider’s web. He exited the doorway and dashed toward the railing, griping it tight. Inch by inch he eased up the railing toward Twilight, coming close to her and he began to shout.

“TWILIGHT! HEY, TWILIGHT! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!” His words were unheard as her arms were now straight above her head and her eyes tightly closed. She was still floating above the deck and her hands were the only thing about her that was moving. Tim’s feet slipped out from under him and he fell straight down to his rear, turning quickly and wrapping one arm around a lower railing and the hand of the other clutching the top rail in a white-knuckle death-grip. The lighting continued to crackle amongst the spiraling clouds about the boat that spun on its hill of water. Looking up at the woman he saw her hands quickly separate and the clap together. At that moment, everything went dead quiet. Tim looked around him, awestruck. The clouds still spun and sparked with lightning. The boat still turned about, matching the speed of the sky above. The wind still blew, but no longer whistled in his ears. He slowly looked up at Twilight once more.

The woman appeared to be a statue. The wind did not affect her; she simple stood- well, floated- there above him, her hands still clasped tightly together, her hair no longer whipping about and her clothes hanging on her body loosely. Tim took this chance of silence to speak to her again.

“Twilight… are you ok?” he waited for a response, but when it came, it was not one he could have ever expected.

Suddenly and sharply, Twilight’s eyes shot open, but no longer were her bright purple eyes visible. Her eyes shone of a bright, hot white, much like the lightning that still silently filled the sky above them. Slowly, her head turn upwards and her mouth opened, the words she began to speak were of no language he had ever heard before. She continued to chant, getting louder and louder with each syllable until her voice was almost a scream. With a final shout, a lone bolt of lightning struck down from the opening in the clouds above them and connected with Twilight’s horn. As the raw energy connected with her body, her arms shot down and out from her sides at an angle. Tim’s ears were then filled with a painfully loud sound as he saw the clouds and lightning crash down from the sky and collide with the water surrounding the boat. The wall of cloud and lightning swirled ferociously around the boat and churned the water violently. Then, without warning, the spinning wall of lightning and cloud quickly closed in on the boat, showing no sign of slowing down and it drew nearer.

Tim tried to scream but no sound would come from him mouth. The air was stolen from his lungs as the he could feel the electricity of the sky close in on him. The last thing he saw, before the clouds and lightning encased him and his boat fully, was the light disappearing from Twilight's eyes and her body falling lifelessly to the deck before his crouched form, a small trail of blood coming from her left eye. His vision then darkened from the outside in as he blacked out on the deck next to the soul-folks still body.