//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty // Story: Dreams and Disasters // by Quillery //------------------------------// Dreams and Disasters by Quillery Chapter 20 Metropolis Leaving the mountains of Germane behind, the cross continental train chugged along through the chilly plains of Stalliongrad. It traveled through the night and following day at a steady pace, filled with passengers still reeling in excitement of the concluding Equestrian Games. Twilight had said she looked forward to a peaceful trip out of the mountains to relax and sleep after the long and exciting weeks they had traveled so far. Sleep, however, evaded Dash through most of the first night. Her mind was in a haze of excitement, confusion and joy. Even Twilight’s attempt at reading history, as she usually did through these interludes, fell as white noise on her ears. She peered out the train window, her breath fogging the glass. Rolling hills of green and white dotted the landscape as far as she could see. The mountains of Germane were well behind them, but a chill ran up Dash's spine as no matter how far the traveled, the peaks of Mt. Gale and Taloncrest seemed to stand out on the horizon. She looked forward, seeing the winding crags and valleys that comprised much of Stalliongrad’s territory. She could feel the cold of the outside on the window through her hooves, and the sparks of excitement that it brought to her mind. Stalliongrad. I can’t believe I didn’t think we would be coming here. The coolest country ever, except for maybe Equestria, and I’m gonna be there. I can’t wait! Dash giggled to herself, pressing her nose harder against the glass. The sun was arching in the sky towards dusk, and stars were starting to show their faces out of the approaching night sky. “You look excited, Dash.” Twilight said, looking up from her book. “Is there something from Stalliongrad history that I’ve read that you’re looking forward to?” “What isn’t there to be excited about?” Dash said. “Stalliongrad is the land of the dragon hunters! Where only the hardiest and awesomest of pony can live.” Twilight frowned. “Uh...that’s right…” Twilight flipped ahead through her book. “But I hadn’t gotten to that part yet.” She looked up. “How did you know?” Dash flinched. “Um, well, why wouldn’t I? I’m always on the hunt on how to be more awesome, knowing about a place like Stalliongrad would definitely fall into that.” Twilight frowned. “I suppose that makes sense… Sort of.” She tapped her chin. “What else do you know about Stalliongrad then?” “Huh?” Twilight closed her book.“Well, you’ve obviously read further than I have. Maybe you know more about it than I?” Dash paused. She blinked a few times as she sorted her thoughts together. She flicked her hoof playfully at Twilight, and turned away with a forced grin. “Aw, c'mon, Twi. You're joshing me. There's no way I could know more than you. I bet you've read all about Stalliongrad.” Twilight laughed. “Well no, not really. I actually haven’t gotten that far in my history research of Stalliongrad. Mostly because it is such a quiet society. There isn’t much material to read on them in my library even, which is what makes this trip all the more important. I’d love to know what you’ve heard.” Dash scratched her head. “Well…” She shook her head. The train shook as the wheels squealed outside. Dash glanced out the window and saw twinkling lights in the distance that they were approaching. The train whistle screeched, and the lively chatter from around the train began to quiet. Dash glanced to Twilight with a smirk. “Saved by the whistle, eh, Twilight?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I suppose so. We can look at the history book when we get it afterwards then. For now, we should concern ourselves with getting to our hotel. I’m not sure if I want to be outside in this chilly air.” She shuddered. “I’m surprised it’s so cold, even in the middle of summer.” “It is further north, Twi.” Dash flicked her hoof at Twilight. “You get used to it.” Twilight narrowed her eyes with a thin smile. “Says the pegasus.” ***** Inside the station, Dash and Twilight found themselves in another customs line. Dash sighed, having resigned herself to the tedium many stops ago, but it did little to alleviate the boredom she felt at all the waiting. She looked up at the sound of rustling pages. Twilight had her nose buried in a book, flipping quickly through the pages. Her eyes darted from page to page, and her lips were moving without words. Dash glanced at the cover. It was not in Equestrian. “Twi? What’s that?” Twilight jumped and looked at her. “Oh! This? It’s just a...um… phrasebook. I’m just reading up on the local language to refresh what I know.” Dash blinked. “Wait, you don’t know Trotsky?” “I know it!” Twilight said quickly. “I just didn’t get through it all. It’s a very complicated language.” Dash smirked. “Oh really? You picked up Prancy and Germaneic pretty well. I figure something like Trotsky would be a piece of cake for you.” Twilight huffed. “Well I had good teachers for that. I learned Germanic when I was still learning from Celestia. I taught myself most of it, and she helped with the rest. Then she taught me Itailic. Then I ran across other languages, like Prancy from Rarity. I was just… learning them in alphabetical order…” “Well, you’re about to get your first chance to test your self teaching skills now, Twilight. Because we’re next in line.” Dash pushed Twilight towards the front of the line. Twilight resisted, but Dash was much stronger, and was soon face to face with the inspector. He looked down from his booth with a stern glare, reaching out a hoof towards her, speaking in throaty Equestrian. “Papers, please.” Twilight blinked a few times, before finally reaching in her bags and offering her passport to the attendant. He snatched it up and laid it on the desk in front of him. He cast a glance briefly over the paperwork before he looked back at Twilight. “Duration of stay?” “U-um, a few days,” Twilight stammered. “Reason for visit?” “Special delivery for the Imperial Palace, from Equestria.” The inspector nodded and looked back to the passports. He flicked a pen over his paperwork with cold, dispassionate emotion, grunting with each scribble. Twilight watched him in silence, and Dash couldn’t help but snicker. Dash stepped up to Twilight and poked her. “Go ahead, Twi. Just get him to test you on something simple.” Twilight nodded apprehensively. “Yes… r-right. Something simple.” The inspector looked up from his paperwork with a raised eyebrow, glancing at Dash and Twilight. Twilight cleared her throat. “Um, excuse me sir?” His eyes narrowed on Twilight, and he shifted his jaw. “Yes?” “I was a bit concerned about my grasp of the language. I was wondering if it would be too much trouble to ask you something in Trotsky, just to see where I am in skill.” His gaze drifted to the line behind them, and rolled it back. “As long as you make it fast. There are others waiting.” “O-of course.” She brought up her phrasebook again and flipped to a page, and read a phrase aloud in a forced, stumbling tone. The inspector blinked and quickly frowned. Twilight stared, swallowing a lump in the sudden silence. Dash on the other hoof, was busy suppressing her mind’s most immediate response. She brought a hoof to her mouth and bit down as a spasm of noise escaped her lips. Twilight turned to her. “What’s wrong?” “Twi,” Dash snickered. “What were you trying to say?” She flipped through the book again. “I was only trying to ask where our hotel would be.” Dash’s brain couldn't take anymore. She fell over onto her back and let out a peal of laughter as she rolled on the ground. Twilight looked down at her and fumed. “Why are you laughing? Trotsky doesn’t sound funny at all. It is a very serious and noble language!” “But...Twi!” Dash wheezed in between her laughs. “It’s not serious and noble when you insult his prized goat and his mother in the same sentence!” Twilight blinked. “Wh-what?!” Dash sat up briefly and pointed at the inspector. “That’s what you said!” Twilight turned to him, who was nodding under his frown. She started stammering. “I-I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t mean—” She paused, and rounded on Dash. “Wait, how did you know what I said?” Dash stopped laughing. She looked up at Twilight from the ground, who narrowed her eyes down at her. She groaned. “Well, shoot. I just busted myself, didn’t I? I was hoping to get more fun out of that.” Dash picked herself off the ground and brushed her coat. She looked at the inspector with a smile. “Sorry about what she said. She didn’t mean anything by it, she just doesn’t grasp the subtleties of Trotsky.” The inspector blinked again, but his frown only deepened. “It is not my place to care what you tourists know of our language. Take your bumbling friend and move along. My patience is at its end.” He lifted his hoof and pulled out a green stamp. He lined up both Dash’s and Twilight’s passports and pressed down firmly, which hit the desk with a resounding thunk! He slid the paperwork back with an impatient shove, and narrowed his eyes. “Cause no trouble.” He looked past Dash to the next pony behind her and shouted, “Next!” Dash scoffed. “Whatever dude. No need to be rude about it.” She tried to move along, but bumped into Twilight, who was still staring at her. “Uh, Twi?” Twilight’s eyes were twitching, her mouth hanging open and uttering a series of stammered responses. “You...Trotsky...speak...WHAT?!” ***** “Since when do you know Trotsky?!” Twilight said, as she and Dash walked down the streets of St. Poniesburg. As Twilight had mentioned, there was brisk chill in the air as the sun was reaching the horizon. Dash let the wind pass through and ruffle her feathers. It was calming feeling, a familiar feeling. The city had a quiet and gloomy appeal to it. The streets themselves seemed to be made from rock as dark as night, roughly cut and lain a strict and precise pattern. Like Spurrlin, everything was stone as far as the eye could see, and Dash trotted through like she was only here yesterday. “Well…” Dash said. “It’s a long story.” Twilight cleared her throat. “I’m curious as to why I’ve never heard it before.” Dash shrugged. “I dunno, I guess I’m not really chatty about my family all that much.” She glanced at Twilight. “Not that I was hiding anything. Just nopony ever asked.” Twilight blinked. “I thought you were born in Cloudsdale.” Dash chuckled. “I was. But my dad is originally from St. Poniesburg. He immigrated to Equestria a long time ago, chasing after my mom. She visited the country after she graduated and they met up somewhere. One thing led to another and…” She stuck out her tongue. “I’m sure you can figure out the rest.” Twilight stared at Dash, amazed. “I can’t believe I never knew that about you, Dash. I’m so sorry I never bothered to ask.” “It’s fine. Like I said, not really an exciting topic from my perspective. It’s just family to me. Fluttershy knows a bit, but I think it’s because her parents and mine were friends too.” Dash pointed at the streets, and at the ponies that walked them. “I used to come here all the time when I was little, mostly to visit my grandparents.” She smiled. “Dad always told me stories of the settlers here. The earth ponies that history books say belonged to Chancellor Puddinghead were only half the story.” They passed a monument in the street. It was a tall stone carving of an earth pony holding a spear, standing under an enormous dragon. Dash walked up to it and ran a hoof across the stonework. She shivered as she touched it, running the stony scales under her hooftips. “This was dragon territory. The land was scorched with dragonfire spanning thousands of years. Earth ponies had an innate magic of the earth, so even they found ways to made the soil fertile again. They thrived here, and at first, it seemed like they could live without bothering each other, but not for long. “The ponies that lived here would have died if they didn’t learn how to fight dragons. So they did, and they got good at it. Even for a pegasus back then, fighting a dragon was no joke, but for earth ponies to master the craft… it’s the stuff of legends. It was only natural that pegasi started herding here in droves to learn from the earth ponies. “When Celestia showed up, she managed to stem the aggression somehow and finally get a sense of peace between ponies and dragons. When Stalliongrad finally settled into what it is today, it was a lot like Germane when you think about it. Except this time, it was ponies and dragons trying to share the land.” Dash tapped the snout of the stone dragon. “Big dragons like this stay far to the north due to the treaties. Anytime they need to confer with the ponies, they do it through the wyverns; small dragons with actual brains." She turned back to Twilight. Her awestruck expression had intensified, and looked like she was struggling to form even a single coherent thought. “And that was...a bedtime story?” Dash smirked. “More or less.” “That was almost a perfect retelling of the advanced history that I do know.” Dash grinned and rubbed her neck. “Aheh, well. My dad always told a good story.” Her smiled faded as she glanced out over the street. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been back, though, since my grandparents passed a few years ago.” Twilight’s face fell. “Oh, Dash. I’m sorry.” Dash flicked her hoof. “It’s fine. It just sucks that my life has gotten so busy that I haven’t been able to get back and see it again. So I’m glad that we were able to come here on this trip. It’s the best surprise ever.” Twilight smiled. “Well, we have some time. I would love for you show me around your family’s native land.” “Well then,” Dash said, smiling. “You’re in for a treat.” ***** “This street brings back alot of memories.” Dash said, as she guided Twilight further into the city. With the approaching evening, the city appeared to be entering a calm. Storefronts were in the process of extinguishing their lanterns, and door chimes were ringing their final tune for the day as shopkeepers closed their doors. “Dad used to take me here to see all the different shops,” she said. “Each trip I could pick anything I wanted.” Dash’s pace picked up as she approached a corner. “At first, I just picked a few souvenirs, but then I found something I couldn’t leave without having at least once.” “What was that?” Twilight asked. “Only the best ice cream in the w—” Dash paused as she rounded the corner. She looked at the spot where she expected to see a brightly colored window against the black stone backdrop of St. Poniesburg. Instead, she saw a vacant building, with no paint or colors in sight. “It’s gone…” Dash said with pain in her voice. “What is?” “Miss Ledyanoy’s Ice Cream Shop. It was the best ice cream in the whole world. Even in the middle of winter, you couldn’t help but have some.” They approached the empty building. Dash pressed her nose to the glass, and felt a lifetimes worth of memories dancing in front of her. Her parents, her grandparents all meeting together in joy and happiness in this very spot. All that was left was a couple of overturned chairs, and years of dust and decay in the wood. To see it now caused Dash great pain. “Why would they close it? This place was the best!” “I don’t know, Dash, but it looks like it’s been closed down for some time.” Dash sighed. She struggled to lift her head just to look down the street. “I guess there some other things we could go see.” Her ears twitched. She lifted her head and searched for a slowly rising sound just at the end of the block. Twilight turned her head too at the new sound. “It sounds like something is going on down there.” She nudged Dash with a smile. “Let’s go see. It sounds exciting.” Dash reluctantly shrugged her head. “Sure, I guess.” They walked to the end of the street and were faced with an enormous crowd gathered in the road. Bright spotlights cut out the night’s darkness, and a long flowing red carpet stretched from an elegant building. “Oh my!” Twilight said. “It looks like some kind of show is being put on. I wonder what kind it is?” Dash tilted her head as she examined the building. A series of posters hung on a wall lit by sconces beside the entrance and herd of attendees. “I got an idea, Twi,” she said as she took to the air. “You wait here a sec, I’ll go see what the big deal is about.” Twilight nodded, and Dash took off across the street. She hovered above the crowds and looked at the posters. Photos of ponies covered the wall, dressed in expensive looking outfits that Rarity would die to have in her shop. Hmm, looks like a fashion show or someth— Her eyes fell on the final poster, and she nearly fell out of the air. It can’t be… ***** Twilight stood watching the growing crowd, waiting patiently for Rainbow Dash to return. Ponies continued to pour in from all directions to stand in line, and Twilight too felt the excitement buzzing in the air. The attendees chatted amongst themselves in Trotsky, but it was in a tone Twilight never expected from the serious and sometimes harsh language. She could hear the joy and liveliness of the ponies, and she felt increasingly foolish to not have learned the language correctly. I’ll have to get Dash to teach it to me, since she knows it so well, she thought. She blinked and laughed. Heehee! Dash teaching me a language. Who would have guessed?” Twilight looked over to the wall where Dash had flown too, but she was nowhere to be seen. She frowned. Where did she go? There was a rush of air that stopped just above her, bringing with it a wall of cold wind. She shivered suddenly and looked up, seeing Dash buzzing her wings just inches away. She was holding two pieces of paper tightly in her hooves, close to her chest, and had an excited grin on her face. “Guess who just us got tickets for the Stalliongrad Ballet!”