"Umm..."
What's causing him to doubt? "Any problem, Player?"
"You know Ponyville, right?"
"Yes, and?"
"That's where the elements of harmony live, Carmen." Oh, that.
"Almost forgot that. Sometimes facts slip away." As we talked I managed to reach the side of the mountain and I started my descent.
"I don't think that going to that town will be convenient. Besides, I'm sure that they will search nearby places first. So, may I make a suggestion?"
"Go ahead."
"The closest transport is a train line that runs all the way southwest and ends in Las Pegasus..." Oh my god, not the puns... "... and it is right at the base entrance of mount Canterlot. Where the International airport is located."
"Oh, So you suggest hiding among the superstars?"
"Basically. However, you will first need to take a short train to Ponyville, and then board the main train to Las Pegasus."
"Why?"
"I just searched the services that go to Las Pegasus, and the earliest ones are express, and while the airport is not one of the stops, Ponyville is, and we both know that the best option is to get as far as possible from Canterlot as soon as possible, so, since the elements will not be in there for a day at most, I think that exchanging at Ponyville is the best idea." He explained.
"You are starting to think like me, Player." I commented to him as I kept descending. "Any Information on how much I need to wait at Ponyville?"
"First tell me, how close are you to the basement?"
"I barely descended two hundred1 meters, so I guess I have two and a half kilometers2 left?"
"...Okay, I need you to reach the basement anyways, so don't expect an answer yet. It all depends on how fast you are." I noticed something odd in his voice... wait.
Oh, no way. Was he challenging me?
"You think I cannot make it to the first train?"
"Well, It leaves in two hours, so..."
"Say no more, Player."
=?=
Descending became quite faster after I gained enough confidence to descend jumping rather than walking, and given that the mountain was filled with small plateaus every once in a while I reached the bottom in 40 minutes.
I then reconnected with Player. "Player, are you still there? I'm on solid ground."
"Yep, alert as usual."
I then took out a small pair of binoculars from the trenchcoat. "I have visual of the airport from here. I guess that around 4 kilometers separates me, am I right?"
"You definitely have spatial awareness Carm. However, considering the irregularity of the road and the fact that the station is located at one of the sides and not right in front of you the distance is extended to almost 6 kilometers. Unless you are a marathoner, you won't make it, after all, you don't have a transport..." Such a teaser...
Who said I don't have one?
"You forgot that you are talking to a thief, Player." And I started picking up my pace.
=?=
Already on the side of the highway, I walked quickly south towards the airport, looking for any gas station. I knew that there should be one, since I had always seen them close to airports as they would usually attract the tourists that rented vehicles.
I finally saw a sign indicating a nearby station so I sprinted down the walkway until I was able to have a visual of it. Before getting any closer I needed to take care of something that could make me easy to track.
"Player, I need you to play a video loop every time I enter the visible zone of a camera, if possible. I'm entering now a gas station, so you should start there."
"Remember when you told me I was starting to think like you?"
"Yes?"
"Well, I thought you would ask me to cover the cameras with fake feed, so while you descended and walked down the highway I took my time to compile some empty and credible recordings for the security systems. Gave me some time to practise my editing skills." Holy-
"Okay, that's what I call a deus ex machina."
"Umm... what?"
"A trope from fiction, player" I started explaining as I approached a toilet room. "Short version, it is the character that solves the protagonist's problems through 'mysterious' ways, sometimes even before they can even be presented to it. By creating the fake feed before I even detected the potential problem you pulled out a deus ex machina. Or at least that's what I think it meant." I ended.
"Do you really think that high of me? I'm just a guy that turned 18. Besides, creating a video loop and trespassing the security of outdated cameras was easy" he questioned.
"Trust me when I say that you have outstanding abilities. Most people even struggle with simple coding languages, and you know... how many?"
"Four. Maybe you are right, Carmen." He admitted. I simply smirked. Always so humble, yet his skills deserved bragging rights.
After closing the toilet room door I immediately started changing clothes at the same speed of a student running late to school. The least amount of time I spent idle the better.
I then faced the mirror to make sure my clothes were properly placed and, for the final touch, I stuffed all my hair into a ponytail. I quickly checked that all the important tools were within reach, and I went straight to the bike parking spot.
Too big, too heavy, has combination... yes! This one.
Not many seconds later a lock was devoid of the bike it was holding.
=?=
"Cheater" I heard through my earpiece.
"What cheat? We never established if the transport should be personal" I replied as I pedalled my way through the highway. "Besides, the objective of getting in the first train is to escape, so any boost is welcome" I added.
I could hear a sigh from his side. "You're right Red. I also sometimes forget things such as the fact that I'm helping a wanted criminal."
Criminal. My body cringed from the sole mention of that word. It simply sounded so wrong, yet it was the truth.
"Holaaa? Sigues ahí Carmen?"3
I was quite surprised to hear him speaking in Spanish and I made sure to let him know.
"Yes, I have been practising, so that you don't feel alone." Aww, how considerate from his part.
"Seguí así y vas a poder mantener una conversación en poco tiempo"4 I encouraged him.
"I only understood half of it, but thanks".
=?=
I finally had the airport in sight, so I did an extra effort to the terminal, from where I would be able to board my escape transport.
I left the bike close to the building so that nobody said anything about how I reached the airport. I ran towards the door and I pulled out my phone. 5 minutes left.
Once inside my eyes quickly scanned for the signs that showed the way to the plattform. A sign indicated the way to the left, going down through a mechanical ramp.
I waited no more and I sprinted my way down the ramp, being careful not to trip over anything. Once at the bottom I inmediately spotted the ticket vending machine, and I did a mad rush to it's screen.
With my hand shaking I indicated to the machine my destination, and quicky I took four banknotes each worth 10 bits, and I basically forced them on it. No change came from it, and I anxiously awaited for the ticket to print.
"Last call for the six o'clock service to ponyville at plattform 4. Doors will close in two minutes".
I almost slammed the machine in frustration, but I saw that the printed paper fell into the collecting point. I grabbed the ticket and this time I rushed to plattform 4...
...which happened to be at the other end of the station.
Kill me please was the only thought that formed in my mind, and consumed in the fear of the possibility of missing the train, I reached the barrier without even thinking about it. I slammed the ticket in the scanner to open it, which took some precious seconds.
In the instant I saw it was starting to open I almost forced it open, if it was not for the fact that it opened faster. I ran the distance of the engine to the first door, and I dived into the carriage, almost hitting the opposite door.
A second later, I could hear the whistle and saw the doors closing.
"Mission-" I quickly took a breath "Accomplished- Player".
"You sure are a determined girl, Red. Take a break for now. I will take care of you connection".
"I- thank you player. Even if you didn't have to..."
"Don't say that. We are team, and we need each other to succeed. Don't you remember our first time?"
...
"Carmen?"
Already on a seat, I answered. "You are right." I was too tired to speak anything else.
"Relax, and enjoy your trip" was the last thing I heard before he cut the call.