Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ePFxuu9lik

As usual, this chapter was edited by Mocha Star. Big thanks to him for making my writing not suck lately.

Hey guys. Long time no see. Sorry for this chapter taking so much longer to get out than all the others. Work and school especially have been killing me the past few weeks, along with a wedding I spent 3 days at and a general lack of idea on how I wanted this story to continue, and I've been a bit slow on this chapter. I hope you all haven't lost interest.

Chapter 24

Cooper and Twilight both stared out at the beacon of violet light not a hundred meters in front of the house. The slightly eerie hum of the portal reverberated through the boarded windows of the bedroom so clearly now, that it could be felt through the floor.

"Oh my gosh..." Twilight breathed for the first time in nearly a minute of gaping.

"So... that's it, isn't it?" Cooper inquired, his eyes never straying from the purple light.

"Y-yes... that's it. That's how I got here. I... I was starting to think I was never going to see it again." Twilight whispered, her eyes wide as saucers.

Silence fell over the pair as they stared back at the light, it's only competition being the humming that filled the room so clearly that it forced a thought to wander into Twilight's head.

How did I not know what that sound was before? It's so obvious now...

She shook her head to clear the thought away and turned to face Cooper. As her eyes fell on him, she saw that he was already facing her, a look of contemplation on his face.

"We, uh... we should probably get you outta here, huh?" He asked, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

Twilight instantly picked up on his change in tone. "Cooper, what's wrong? That's the portal! We can get out of here!" She exclaimed, a fresh wave of excitement filling her body with each word and a beaming smile forming on her face.

Cooper slowly turned his gaze from Twilight to the rest of the room. As he looked away from her, Twilight turned to follow his eyes and see what he was looking at. She immediately noticed the torn up bed and blood stains on the wall. Her smile quickly faltered, and she turned to see a melancholy look on Cooper's face.

Twilight swallowed and licked her lips. "Cooper... I know leaving is hard... but, please, come with me. There's a better life waiting for you in Equestria. Mya and Sarah would want you to be happy... I want you to be happy."

Cooper's eyes drifted to the floor and he gave a mute nod. "I know... it's just..." He trailed off, shaking his head as he sat down against the wall.

Twilight instantly limped over to his side and nuzzled his cheek. An arm soon found it's way wrapping around her neck and pulling her closer. She happily leaned into it and, for a few moments, they simply held onto each other.

Soon enough, Cooper released his hold on Twilight and fixed her with an apologetic look as she sat down on her haunches beside him.

"It's just hard to say goodbye, is all... I know they've been gone for years, but as long as I was here, it always kinda felt like they were still... close, you know?" He managed to say, his voice croaking just slightly.

"I understand, Cooper. I understand, and please believe me when I say that I would never ask you to give up their memory or anything like that, ever. I just... I can't bear the thought of leaving you here in this... this horrible place while I go home and be with my friends and family. I just can't." Twilight replied, using her wing as a makeshift hand and wrapping it around Cooper's knee.

Cooper chuckled mirthlessly. "Thought I was supposed to be the one looking out for you." He said, his voice nearly a whisper.

"We take care of each other." Twilight smiled.

Cooper slowly looked up at Twilight once more. "And if I couldn't go through?" He asked

"Then I'd stay here with you." Twilight affirmed.

"Twilight-"

"No. Cooper,” Twilight cut him off, “I'm not leaving you behind. If I can't get you to walk through that portal with me, or there's any reason at all that you couldn't come with me, I'd stay right here by your side."

Cooper sat upright. "Twilight, there's no way in hell I'd let you stay here. You have a family and friends to go back to, for Christ's sake!" He exclaimed.

Twilight was unfazed. "I am not leaving you. Period."

He held her gaze for a few moments before a long, drawn out sigh escaped his lips. "Alright. Alright, we'll see, but I don't know what's gonna happen. For all we know, me going through that thing might turn me into mush on the other side."

"That won't happen. I specifically calibrated the portal to keep any living creature alive and intact if it passed through. It's completely safe, guaranteed." Twilight asserted.

Cooper looked to the floor. "If you say so."

Twilight looked back at the destroyed room behind her for a few seconds before her gaze fell back on Cooper. "Do you... need a minute to say goodbye?" She asked.

For a moment he didn't respond, but eventually Cooper looked up until his eyes locked with hers once more. "Just a minute."

"Okay." Twilight replied, leaning back slightly.

Cooper pushed himself to his feet and looked over the remains of the bedroom. He slowly walked over to the bed and gently pressed his hand against the hardened mattress. He sighed softly through his nose and stepped out of the bedroom, prompting Twilight to unfurl her wings and follow behind. She slowly made her way through the doorway and followed along as Cooper led her to another bedroom at the far end of the hallway.

The master bedroom was furnished much the same as the other bedroom, with the exception of the size of the bed and dresser. The sheets were a soft blue, but the color was faded and the fabric tattered away to little more than a ghostly reminder of what once was. As she watched him walk up to the bed, Twilight paused in the doorway, her wings providing the only ambient noise in the house aside from the nearly constant humming.

Cooper looked down at the mattress and once more placed his hand on the sheets. Another, more drawn out sigh filled the air before he bowed his head and closed his eyes. Twilight watched him for over a minute as he stood in near complete silence, before he finally opened his eyes again and turned around to face her.

"Okay... let's get out of here." He said, his voice no more than a whisper.

Twilight nodded. "I know it's hard, but thank you. I don't think I'd ever sleep another night in my life knowing I left you here." She admitted.

Cooper slowly nodded. "I know... just... that's the second time I've had to do that. Sorry, being here makes me emotional." He said with a dry chuckle.

"Well, then let's get out of here, once and for all." Twilight replied, giving an encouraging smile.

Cooper allowed a small smile to form on his face. "Yeah... yeah, let's go."

Twilight nodded and turned to allow him to exit the room. Once he was out, he took the lead and led the way down the stairs to the living room. With some effort, Cooper managed to pry the front door open and dig through the snow in the entryway until a large enough hole was made for them both to fit. Cooper climbed out with little issue while Twilight needed a helping hand to climb out, without putting weight on her foreleg.

The bitter cold stung at their skin as the darkened clouded skies greeted them with more falling snow. Cooper looked ahead to the purple light of the portal and waved Twilight after him as he trudged forward. She took only a second to follow behind him, her wings keeping her aloft so she wouldn’t have to walk behind him.

Together they made their way through the snow and cold until the portal was just a dozen feet away. Cooper slowed their pace as the humming sound drowned out any ambient noise around the swirling vortex. Twilight fluttered up to his side and gently nuzzled his cheek with her own and nodded toward the portal

"Let's go together." She said, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the humming.

Cooper shakily nodded. "Alright."

They stepped and fluttered toward the portal until they were just just a hair's breadth away from the edge. Cooper stared in fascination as the swirling vortex of violet color waved and rippled like a pool of water beckoning him closer.

"You ready?" Twilight called from his side.

"Yeah." He answered, breathlessly.

"On the count of three! Three! Two! One! Go!" Twilight exclaimed, the excitement in her voice bled over into Cooper's heart, pushing him forward.

Together they went into the vortex and the world around them shifted. Colors distorted, limbs spaghettified, and even pain melted away as they felt the world change. Flashing lights blinded them as stars zipped by faster than either could rationalize, and even space itself changed to conform around them as they disappeared through reality.

Cooper felt his eyeballs spin in his head as he tried to understand just what exactly he was feeling, but to no avail. His mind swam about in a soup as his body extended and retracted around him. All he could manage to do was look to Twilight for assurance, but even she was stretched out and as lost as he was.

His mind wondered just how long the journey could last, and as he saw a kaleidoscope of color and shapes, he simply closed his eyes and silently prayed.

Then, warmth. Cooper was aware that his body was swaying back and forth, but he couldn't quite see just what was happening. It took a moment for him to remember that his eyes were closed, but as soon as he did, he saw light. Blinding, brilliant light that blocked out everything else and left him squinting as he used his hand to block out the rays of illumination.

Cooper took several deep breaths as his mind struggled to catch up with where he was and, after a moment, his eyes finally adjusted to the lighting of the room. Reflective crystals greeted him from all sides, the light refracting off the shiny material through the multiple windows littering the wall. To his left, he saw Twilight step over to the portal generator and press a button with her hoof.

Almost immediately, the loud humming noise faded to nothing and a new sound reached his ears; the sound of birds chirping off in the distance. Cooper's knees felt weak and he slowly turned his gaze toward the open doorway leading to the outside world.

"Spike! Spike, where are you!?" Twilight called out, looking back and forth across the room. "Now just where did that little drake get off to? I know I was gone for a while, but it should have only been a few minutes here." She finished, scratching her chin in thought.

Cooper was far too preoccupied with the doorway to pay attention to Twilight, and after another moment of intense focus, he stepped toward the light. Twilight eyed him curiously as he slowly walked away from her before she came to a realization.

"Four years... well I'm glad I get to see the end of that." She smiled, flapping her wings to gain some air and follow Cooper out.

As Cooper approached the doorway, the intense light of the outside world continued to glare at his eyes, making it harder to see the closer he got. He squinted his eyes and held a hand in front of his face as he finally reached the end of the room and the opening to the outside world.

Once he was finally there, and his eyes adjusted, Cooper looked out into the world, finding a clear blue sky and green as far as the eye could see. His shoulders slumped and he sharply inhaled as his eyes watered from the sheer beauty of the world in front of him. For almost a minute he stared out at sheer spectacle of a world not frozen in ice, losing himself in the utter majesty of Equestria for the first time.

He almost didn't hear the pistol cocking behind him.