*Pop!*

I have to shield my eyes as I’m suddenly assaulted by the glaring sun, my head spinning as I feel like I’ve just been forced through a tunnel that was far too small for me and tossed around for good measure.

I feel cold rocky ground greet me as I fall to my knees, desperately trying to hold back a strong wave of nausea. Heart pounding and breathing heavily, I manage to lift my head enough to take a look around. We were back on the small hilltop where Luna had gone to seek comfort only a few nights ago. How the….she had teleported us!? It was the only possible explanation, and even in mere seconds she must have had to do it, she had even managed to bring along the meager collection of supplies we had gathered….and a good sized chunk of the floor if the circular patch of carpet under our bags was any indication. I find myself staring at it with a morbid sense of fascination. It should horrify me. That house was my pride and joy. The culmination of years of effort and saving to finally have a place to call my own, but..,,I could hardly blame her for it. After all, it should be the least of my concerns at this point, and with a sinking feeling in my gut, I begin to consider that I might never see it again.

Speaking of more immediate concerns, Lorrie had clearly taken the sudden teleportation just as poorly as I had, standing doubled over a few feet away gagging and retching as her body purges itself of every meal she’d had over the last day and then some.

Luna meanwhile was simply standing stoically between the two of us, concern marring her otherwise placid features as she gazes off into the distance.

Following her gaze, I suddenly feel a new appreciation for the dense thickets of trees that now stood between us and my house that now lay a few hundred meters away. However, it still felt uncomfortably close as I lay my eyes on the swarm of activity that now surrounded it. Dozens of figures wearing black tactical gear armed with rifles had created a perimeter, covering every possible avenue of escape. A small crowd milled about near what remained of the front door, mostly consisting of the hazmat team, who seemed to be arguing with a pair of agents that were blocking them access to the house.

The front yard now looked like small parking lot, and even as I watched more vehicles were arriving. It was a strange motley of agencies. Everything from the local PD, State bomb squad, Federal Government, hazmat, and several more that I couldn’t make out had descended on my property.

“I am sorry, Dave.” Luna’s soft voice breaks the stillness of the hilltop, that stood in sharp contrast against the flurry of activity below. “I have been arrogant to think my presence would not draw attention, and now the both of you are worse off for it.”

She hangs her head, ears drooping as she turns away from her vantage point and circles around behind us before plopping down on her haunches dejectedly. “Had I any sense, I would have left as soon as I was able.”

“No.” I say firmly, rounding on her. “I made the choice to help you.” I glance over at Lorrie, who appears to be recovering somewhat, but still looks a bit green. “We both did…”

Luna turns her head up toward me, looking ready to argue her point further, but before she can Lorrie butts in. “And go where?” She states, waving a hand around for emphasis. “Yeah, this sucks. There’s no denying that.” She surprises me by boldly marching over and resting a hand on Luna’s withers. “Look. We can play the blame game and wallow in self pity forever, or we can help each other, and maybe together we can make this all work out.”

Luna brightens a little at that, a thoughtful smile creasing her muzzle. “Hmm…..in some ways thou remind me of a certain former student of sister’s.”

Yeah, I had no idea who she was referring to, but apparently it was high praise from the way it made Lorrie’s face light up.

“And I must concede you have a point.” Luna continues. “As much as I do not wish to cause further harm, I will admit that I would be in much more dire straits without your assistance, and do not favor the idea of finding my way in your world on my own.”

Another glance down the hill reveals that the majority of attention was still focused on my house, but that would only last for so long. “Okay, it’s great that we’ve worked that out, but we’re going to have to get moving. Once they realize there’s nothing there, they’re gonna spread out and search for us.”

“But….where do we go?” Lorrie asks, scooping up her bag. “It’s not like we can hide out in the woods, and there’s no way we’ll be able to hide her.”

That gives me pause. What had my plan even been? Sure, if we had Lorrie’s truck we could’ve kept Luna hidden well enough to get her to Lorrie’s house, but there was no way we’d be able to sneak back to it. Of course, even if we could, the authorities almost certainly had all her information at this point, so the idea of laying low at her place was out the window.

So where did that leave us? Even if we headed down the far side of the hill to the road, if it wasn’t being patrolled already, it’s mot like we could hitchhike with a five foot tall blue allicorn. What we needed right now was more time to come up with a better plan, so with no better immediate options, deeper into the woods it was.

I explain as much to Lorrie and Luna, and with no better suggestions from either, we reluctantly collect the last of our things and set off.

Counting our blessings, we continued trekking our way through the woods. Thankfully the weather had let up, the snow having melted and the cold having lost most of its bite. The ground itself was fairly muddy, but as we kept to what looked firm, we shouldn’t need to worry too much about footprints. Another bright side was the fact that we were dressed for the impromptu hike, our boots and jackets proving their worth with each step deeper into the woods.

None of us say any more than the occasional hushed comment as we walk, making the sound of our foot and hoofsteps the only constant over the noise of a low wind rustling the few stubborn leaves that had held out though the fall. Every now and then a stick breaking, or other unexpected noise causes us to stop. We’re all on edge, myself especially as I imagine even the smallest of sounds being picked up by a relentless search team, or that a pack of dogs might crest the hill we had left behind us to chase us down.

The tension slowly fades as the minutes turn to hours. I spend the majority of the time leading the way, since I knew the area fairly well. Plus I didn’t really want to walk behind Luna. Sure, everything was neatly hidden away by her tail, but just a few minutes of trying not to focus on her flexing haunches and the way her hips swayed from side to side as she walked threatened to pull my thoughts back to that unsavory dream of mine.

Nope. Not going to let my mind go there. Was she attractive in a weird, uncomfortably equine way? Undeniably. But we didn’t feel that way about each other, her not even slightly as she had made clear. “Stupid brain, you like women….not ponies, not horses….women!” I mentally shout at myself as I pull ahead again, sandwiching Luna between myself and Lorrie as she takes up the rear.

After a while of making our way through the woods, the area begins to clear out. We decide this to be a good spot to halt for a bit, the trees around us spaced out enough for visibility, but enough overhead cover to keep us secluded from airborne observers. The day had been slowly creeping along, the setting sun shining its rays through the gaps in the trees. After taking some time to settle in and carefully listen for any possible signs of pursuit, we finally allow ourselves to hesitantly relax. The walk had given me time to think and plan, but what I’d come up with would depend on a lot of unknowns.

After taking some time to settle in and carefully listen for any possible signs of pursuit, we finally allow ourselves to hesitantly relax. The walk had given me time to think and plan, but what I’d come up with would depend on a lot of unknowns.

I pull out my phone. Yeah, I was going to have to ditch it soon. None of this would do any good if I kept carrying around something so easily tracked, but there were still a few things I had to do first.

Service is somewhat limited, only one bar, but I do have internet access. Not unexpected, being that we were now in a valley in the middle of nowhere, but it should be enough to work with.

I couldn’t risk making a call or sending a message. If my phone hadn’t been tapped into already, leaving a trail they could use to lead back to me would certainly tip them off once they inevitably did. Instead, I pull up a map and scroll around until I find what I’m looking for.

“Hey Luna, what you did back there…..that was a teleport, right?” I ask, moving over to sit beside her.

She nods.

“How exactly does that work? Are there limits to it?” I continue.

She looks thoughtful. “I am not sure how to describe it in a manner you would understand. It involves envisioning the location one wishes to travel to and…..in a sense, displacing yourself into a….” She pauses, trying to find the right words. “A tunnel formed of magic, with the destination being the exit. The longer the tunnel, the more magic it takes to create, and the greater the number of passengers one takes, the larger the tunnel must be.”

“Does it have to be a place you’ve been before, or just one you can picture?” I ask.

“It must be well known, but with a detailed enough vision of the location it is possible, if more hazardous.” Luna replies. “Why do you ask?”

I show her my phone, the map focused on a satellite view of a cabin nestled in a small clear cut area on a hillside. A long dirt driveway winding its way down to a distant road framed the bottom of the picture.

“There’s an old Army buddy of mine.” I sneak a glance at Lorrie before lowering my voice. “He was in that dream you saw, in one of the other trucks. To be honest, he’s a bit….eccentric. Always went on about the end of the world and all that. Went completely off grid after we got home, and like everyone else I kinda lost touch with him a few years back, but I’d trust him with my life and I’m sure he’d be willing to help us.”

Luna looks at the picture carefully. “I do not think I can use this to teleport. The details are vague, and I do not know how distant it is.”

I was zoomed in as far as it could go, so no help there. “It’s about two hundred miles from here.” I reply, zooming out. “See, this is where we are, and this is where his cabin is.” I explain, pointing to a spot in Northern Maine. “Is it possible to teleport that far?”

Luna nods again. “Yes. The distance is not a problem. What makes it impossible for me is your picture of the destination. While I could potentially use it, without knowing precise details I could unwittingly teleport us into the same spot something already stands, which would have….horrific consequences.”

Well, fuck. I feel my heart sink at the failure of yet another plan…..wait! I did have a better picture! I close out the map and begin scrolling through my pictures until I find one of myself and another man posing in front of that same cabin. At the time it was taken, it was clearly newly built, with excess materials stacked neatly in the foreground. My friend had a proud grin on his bearded face as he leaned on a pallet of plywood, his other arm sling across my shoulders.

“What about here?” I ask, pointing at the newly finished driveway on the left side of the picture. “There shouldn’t be anything there, but would it be possible to drop us a foot or two off the ground just in case?”

Luna studies the picture carefully before smiling. “Yes, I believe I could manage that.”

I hear a gasp from behind me. Lorrie’s curiosity had gotten the better of her, and I turn to see her looking over my shoulder.

“Oh god, you want to bring Tony into this!?” She exclaims, leveling me with a judgmental look.

“Yeah.” I say bluntly. “Look….I know how you feel about him, but of all the people, I know we can trust him to help us out and keep quiet.”

“If he doesn’t decide to just shoot us on site!” Lorrie retorts.

“He’s not that bad. Remember that party we were all at when you helped him take care of me after I drank way too much?”

“Yeah….and it’s the only thing that got him to stop talking about all his stupid conspiracies.” Lorrie fires back. “I mean, he’s a nice guy, but….”

“But he might be our only option.” I reply, looking back down at the photo. Tony Mason, or ‘Doc’ as we all called him, had been the combat medic for our squad. His smiling face was framed with a head of long black hair that matched his neatly trimmed beard. As we once again gather up our meager collection of supplies, I take one last regretful look at the picture before powering off the phone and tossing it away. Our plan was settled and we were ready. Tony had no idea just what was about to hit him.

Author's Note

Whew. After a good start there, life has finally caught back up to me. Expect weekly updates from this point on.