Eclipse

As it turns out, teleporting a small group of people and supplies hundreds of miles blindly is a lot more complex than a simple point and zap of Luna’s horn.

We’d only been stopped in the clearing for twenty minutes or so, but my anxiety is beginning to grow as I have to retrieve my phone and hold it up for Luna to study the picture. There really shouldn’t be any way for them to know where we had gone. Nothing to indicate we’d left the house at all, other than what that first agent to enter the room had seen in that brief moment before we’d vanished. For all he knew, we’d simply been vaporized, but still, I’m unable to shake my unease as I watch Luna study my phone.

Her focus doesn’t waver as the minutes tick by, and I find myself scanning the wooded ridge line we’d descended. Other than a light breeze causing branches to sway, and kicking up a few loose leaves, there’s no sign of anything moving. Nothing to be heard but soft whispers of air.

“How long is this going to take?” I ask, beginning to grow impatient.

“Significantly longer, should you continue to break my focus.” Luna mutters back, pulling her attention away from the screen to glare at me, her soft teal eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“Okay…sorry.”

I get an irritated flick of her ear as she turns her attention back to the screen. Her eyes scroll slowly, side to side and top to bottom as she works to take in every possible detail.

A few more painfully slow minutes tick by. Everything is unnervingly still as neither myself nor Lorrie dare make even the smallest sound that might break the alicorn’s attention. With nothing of interest to see, I find myself studying Luna as she works. Her lips pursed in thought, and her muzzle crinkled slightly as she concentrates. It’s amazing how much emotion her face displays. Even her ears point slightly inwards to face the screen, like a pair of fuzzy little radar dishes, only occasionally swiveling one at a time in response to things likely only she could pick up.

I frown when one of Luna’s ears flicks back and remains focused toward where we had come from. Her face doesn’t show any traces of concern, but for some reason the involuntary movement puts me on edge.

I turn to look back toward the ridge, breathing slowly as I listen carefully. Nope…noth….wait.

As the wind stills, I begin to pick up a faint buzzing sound somewhere far off in the distance. Like a swarm of angry bees, but far too constant. Too consistent.…

“We have to go. Now!”

"What is it? Have we been discovered?" Luna asks, finally pulling her attention away from the screen to focus on the sound as it slowly begins to grow. Lorrie meanwhile, while not seeming to have noticed it yet, is already picking up her things and moving closer, looking concerned.

"Not yet...I think. But that's definitely a drone." Greeted by a blank stare from Luna, I hurriedly elaborate. "Another machine. Something small and flying, made to observe things remotely."

Indeed, judging by how faint the sound is, it's still some distance away. Most likely still on the far side of the ridge line, and unlikely to see much through the tree cover even if it did make its way closer. Still, this was not the time to take chances. With however many agencies and whoever else may be involved at this point, there was no telling what kind of equipment that drone might be carrying.

“No matter. I have acquired all that is needed from your photograph, and we shall be away well before this ‘drone’ should have a chance. If you are ready, please gather close.” Luna replies.

She doesn’t show any visible concern, yet a note of authority creeps into her voice at the request.

I nod, moving over and lifting my phone from her outstretched hoof. I give it a long regretful look as I once again power it off. So many memories. Photos, emails, time wasting apps and games. Sure, it could probably all be recovered if I ever got around to replacing it, but still. As I toss it away, I can’t help but feel like I’m leaving behind one of the last bits of my old life. One that I might never be able to return to.

Having already thrown her phone away, Lorrie seems to be going through a similar realization as she solemnly trudges over to Luna’s side. She doesn’t say a word, but the glassy hint of tears in her eyes convey more than a muttered complaint or sad remark ever could.

I press in close on Luna’s other side as her horn begins to glow.

“Prepare yourselves. Despite my efforts, there are many variables with this teleport, and the landing may be….unpleasant.” Luna warns as the glow increases in intensity. Her brow furrows in concentration, and a dull whine begins to build, a few blue sparks arcing from her horn before the aura stabilizes and becomes surrounded by an even brighter overglow.

The whine continues to build, nearly making my ears ring, and I have to snap my eyes shut as the glow becomes blinding in the fading evening light. It’s taking so much longer than the first teleport, that I’m about to ask if something is wrong. But, before I can open my mouth to voice my concerns, the spell reaches its peak and I suddenly feel I like I’m being grabbed by an intense force and shoved into a space that’s far too small for me. The last thing I hear is a resounding *POP* as everything goes blue.

*************************

*POP!* *THUD!*

“Owwwwww…..”

I groan as a second loud pop nearly makes my ears ring and I fall onto the cold hard ground. My groan is almost immediately cut off as something heavy falls on top of me, knocking the wind out of my lungs and turning my groan into a sharp gasp.

Almost immediately, the nausea and dizziness sets in, and my head pounds as I struggle to push the weight off of me, struggling to untangle myself from a mess of limbs. This action earns an annoyed feminine groan from above, revealing the unidentified mass to be Luna. At some point during our arrival, we must have shifted around, and now the surprisingly heavy little pony was lying on top of me.

Fortunately Luna recovers quickly, and with a graceful flap of her wings she pulls herself off and sits back on her haunches a few feet away. I gasp and gag as my lungs fill with sweet, wonderful air, the darkened landscape spinning around me only making my dizziness worse.

To Luna’s credit, she looks more concerned for my condition than embarrassed for having landed on me, looking down at me pitifully as she seems to spin around me in lazy circles.

I squeeze my eyes shut, breathing deeply as the spinning mercifully slows and finally stops. Though my ears are still ringing, and my head pounds incessantly in protest, I manage to pull myself up on shaky feet.

“Ughhh….let’s not do that again.” I complain, slowly looking around. We had landed almost exactly where we’d intended, if a little higher up, and the driveway was thankfully clear. Having traveled a good distance east, darkness had fallen completely, the dim light of the stars and a half moon peeking over the horizon the only source of illumination. Well, the only source besides the warm yellow light spilling from the windows of the cabin a few dozen feet up the hill from us.

Luna doesn’t acknowledge my comment as she walks over to check on Lorrie who lays sprawled out on the ground to my left.

“Fuck.” I swear bitterly as my eyes fall on her unconscious form. At least I hope she’s merely unconscious as I stumble over to check on her.

Thankfully, she appears to be uninjured aside from a few small scrapes as a consequence of crash landing on the rough gravel driveway. I breathe a sigh of relief as I make out the steady rise and fall of her chest.

It surprises me when Luna leans down to tenderly nuzzle Lorrie’s cheek, causing her to groan weakly, though she doesn’t stir.

“I am sorry. I knew the experience would be rough, and knew it to be necessary, but I cannot help but feel shame for the pain I have inflicted.” Luna says solemnly as she pulls away.

“It’s not your fault. If anything, we should be thanking you, Luna. If you hadn’t been able to teleport us, we’d still be stuck in the woods.”

Any further discourse is cut short as the door of the cabin slams open, and I’m once again blinded as an intense white light hits my face.

“What the fuck’s going on out here!?” Someone yells as I throw up a hand to shield my eyes.

My heart jumps as I hear the metallic clunk of an action being cycled. “Shit! Mason, is that you!? It’s Dave! Don’t fucking shoot!” I yell desperately.

“What the….Chandler!?”

I blink spots out of my vision as the light moves away from my face.

“Yeah, it’s me dickhead!” I retort, squinting at the form silhouetted I’m the doorway. My night vision now completely ruined, I’m unable to make out much, other than that he’s holding some type of long gun with a flashlight near the muzzle, now pointed toward the ground.

“Is such language really necessary?” I hear from somewhere nearby.

The flashlight moves up again, illuminating Luna in its intense glow.

Before I have a chance to call out a warning, a blue glow envelopes the weapon and tears it from Mason’s grasp.

“Hey! What the fuck is that!?” He yells as Luna levitates the weapon, a shotgun by the looks of it, over to her.

“Calm down and wait a minute!” I yell as he looks about ready to dash back inside. Fortunately my shout causes him to stop halfway through the doorway.

“We need your help! It’s a long story, and I promise I’ll explain everything, but Lorrie’s here too, and she’s hurt!”

“Lorrie?” His eyes fall on her unconscious form for a moment before shifting back to Luna. “What the hell’s going on, Chandler? And what is that thing” He asks, pointing at her.

Luna turns her attention from the stolen shotgun to glare at him, her wings flared out at her sides as she snarls. “You dare threaten me with this human? I am Princess Luna, diarchal ruler of Equestria!” She yells with an intensity that makes me take a step back as she shakes the shotgun accusingly.

I had never seen her like this. My heart races as she begins to walk forward with fire in her eyes, her relatively diminutive size doing little to detract from the terrifying display. This was not some poor helpless little pony in need of help. This was a goddess with the power to crush mountains and wipe entire cities off the map, and right now all her fury is directed right at the confused man standing before her.

“Everyone just calm down!” I run over to place myself between her and Mason, waving my arms in a desperate bid to deescalate the situation before it has a chance to go completely sideways.

I begin to fear that she might just push me aside, but mercifully she stops short. A few tense moments pass before she takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Her face relaxes, and she folds her wings at her sides, looking ashamed as she lowers her gaze.

“Forgive me……I…..seem to have lost my temper.” She mutters softly, letting her magic wink out and letting the shotgun fall to the ground.

“It….it’s okay…” I reply, just barely able to keep my voice from shaking. I can feel my hand trembling as I reach up to lay it reassuringly on the side of her neck. I had just faced down certain death and somehow came out on top. If that was her reaction to the mere possibility of a threat, and being called a ‘thing,’ then what would she do if she was truly threatened? The thought makes me shudder.

I turn to see Mason standing perfectly still in the doorway, his face ghostly white. He reaches a trembling hand down to fish out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Popping one in his mouth, he lights it and takes a long inhale before blowing out a cloud of smoke with a shaky breath. “Right…..fuckin’ showing up on my doorstep with an alien ruler and shit…” He mumbles around the cigarette, taking another puff before pulling it out fixing his gaze on me. “So, you wanna start explaining?”