The train lurched and almost jerked Joe off of his feet along as well as his thoughts as he stood over the lifeless body. The brakes screamed in agony and came to a dead stop.
Fueled by instinct, Joe grabbed the film left behind by the pony and tossed it into his saddlebag. He double checked the contents of the bags to make absolute certain that the Grimoire was still there.
“Rose, wake up! Wake up or I’ll leave you behind.” Joe shook the sleeping Rose fiercely. His heart raced with adrenaline as he knew he did not have much time. Rose groaned as she fought against the awakening. “Rose, wake up or I’ll leave you behind, do you hear me!?” Joe kept urging.
“Don’t leave me. Never leave me.” she said in a half-sleep.
Left with no other choice, Joe picked her up and rested her on his back. With the difficulty of balancing Rose’s weight, Joe clamored out of the train. The rest of belongings in the room, such as the dresses, had to be left behind. It was still night out but the stars and moon shone brilliantly, freed from the Great Storm Cloud. Joe felt free as well and was sorry that Rose had to be missing it. In front of the train, the conductor was arguing with another pony who stood before a carriage sitting in the middle of the tracks just as Rook said there would be. Joe’s mind raced with blood as he quickly analyzed the situation. He realized DISCORD would be suspicious if Joe or Rose appeared without the grey pony and it would take far too much time to go around the back of the train.
Joe took a deep breath and set Rose on the ground. He tried to shake her awake again but still all she did was groan and slightly stir. Joe cursed to himself and charged his horn. He levitated the comatose Rose just slightly off the ground. He concentrated his mind as he pushed Rose forward and squeezed her body between the thin space between the train and the tracks. He moved her slowly and methodically, but with the knowledge that the train could start moving again at any moment. Near the end of the train’s underside, she startled to wobble. The time Joe spent levitating her was taking its toll. Joe’s temples throbbed and ached horribly. Each moment that passed made it that much more difficult to concentrate. Joe knew he was at his limit. With his last ounce of concentration he shoved Rose with one great push. His horn gave out and Joe watched as Rose’s limp body cleared the tracks and the train and tumbled around on the glistening dew grass on the other side.
Joe had to go next. He looked to the side and was aghast when he saw the DISCORD pony moving his carriage off of the tracks. Joe leaped to the ground and crawled underneath the train. Joe’s size just barely squeezed in between the thin gap. His stomach and belly scraped against the coarse metal, unpolished wood and piled rock of the tracks. His horn and the top of his head bumped against the piping and gear work above him. His saddlebag got caught on the axle and Joe had to yank it off. Joe scuttled forward but it felt as if he was making no progress. The grassy field at the other end of the track stretched farther and farther away. Joe’s elbows banged against the metal, tingling his entire legs. About half-way across, Joe heard the steaming hiss of the engine. The gears creaked and rattled to life. In a panic, Joe crawled faster. He could hear the train huff and puff. The wheel axle churned and Joe noticed his head was level with the heavy wheels of the Friendship Express. Joe closed his eyes in focus and kept moving. His front hoof touched wet grass. The chilling dampness inspired Joe’s muscles. He dug his hoof in and pulled himself forward.
The train whistled loudly and sped off on its way. Joe opened his eyes and looked back to see his back hoof just inches away from the speeding wheels. He shook the shivers out of his body and attended to Rose. She was still fast asleep. Joe wasn't sure whether that surprised him or not.
Joe looked around the field. Just off in the distance, Joe saw a pull cart filled with various flowers. A rather bored looking pony leaned against the cart and mindlessly chewed away at the product. Joe left Rose in the grass as he quietly made a wide turn around the cart to avoid the watch of the pony. The flower pony yawned but stopped halfway when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Excuse me?” Joe asked. The pony looked over just in time to see Joe’s hoof collide with his face. The pony was out cold. Joe ran over and picked up Rose again and placed her in the flower cart. “Alright, Rose you just sleep it off in there. You’ll feel better once you wake up.”
“Stay here with me…” Rose moaned. Joe opened his saddlebag and took out the Grimoire. The weight of the book became apparent as it left the strange space of the bag and Joe nearly toppled over. He placed the book on the cart first and covered it with flowers so that nopony could see it. He then placed Rose’s body on top of it. Joe then strapped himself into the front of the cart and galloped away in the direction of the lake that was indicated on Rook’s map.
Rose’s woke up to a powerful heat on her face. The heat tickled her nose and she sneezed. The sneeze was painful as her head pounded with a horrible migraine. Her memories were muddled. She knew she had been on the Friendship Express, but she couldn't remember any details beyond that. A bright whiteness put pressure on her eyes and she couldn't open them. But she did feel the bumpy movement and she wondered how she was able to sleep through such uncomfortable bouncing.
“Ow, my head!” she whined, “I feel like I was run over by a train.”
“That ain't too far from the truth.” Rose heard Joe’s voice somewhere behind her. His voice made her smile warmly. It was a pleasant warmth, not like the intense heat that smothered her body. “You were drugged. But don’t worry you’re ok now. We’re currently crossing the border between Buffalo’s Roam and Equestria.”
Equestria! The name made Rose tingle with excitement. She wanted nothing more than to see the lush, green fields she had always heard about. With no more hesitation, she opened her eyes wide. But instead of lush, green fields, she was met with a burning white and yellow fire that scorched her retinas.
“My eyes!” she screamed, “Something is wrong with my eyes!”
“Nothing’s wrong with your eyes, Rose. You’re just not used to having an actual sun above your head. See all that blue up there? That’s what the sky is supposed to look like.”
Rose blinked a few times and the burning light dimmed. It gave way to two blurry, pastel bands of green and blue. the blue and green bars tightened and gained shape. The green bar became rolling hills that went on forever. she could see the occasional patch of wildflowers growing on the brilliant hillsides. even the dirt road that the carriage was driving on was beautiful. The dirt was brown but it was the most colorful brown she had ever seen. Then there was the blue. Oh the most brilliant of blues. It was the bluest blue that Rose could ever hope to imagine. It looked like a soothing blanket of cool, gentle water hung above her head. But it wasn't all blue. The blue was broken. Patches of white hung in the blue. They were white as snow but far more brilliant. They came in all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes. She could see bunnies and dogs and even one that looked like a pony. And then there was the orb that hung in the sky. She knew what it was at once. It was small, but brighter than any lamp. Ten Million fireflies had clustered together and spewed out fire like a dragon. She couldn't look at the orb for more than a second but she didn't care. She just kept staring at it and tried to take in all of its majesty. Roseluck’s eyes watered but it was not from the stinging light. She collapsed into jubilant tears.
“So that’s the sun.” she cried, “And the clouds are actually white and really, really small! Oh, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!”
“Beats the crap out of that Storm Cloud, right?’ Joe laughed.
Rose looked into the distance. On the very edge of the horizon, she saw a tiny grey smudge; an ugly stain against the brilliant blue..
“The Storm Cloud… It looks so far away. So tiny.” Her tears burst anew. “Oh, Joe, thank you! Thank you! You did it! You really saved me! You could have left me to be killed by the Griffons but you didn't!”
Rose peered over the front of the cart and happily peered down at the pony drawing it. He looked up at her and smiled brightly. “I’m a pony of my word, Rose. By this time tomorrow we will be safely in Equestria.”
Rose lay on her back in her bed of flowers and looked up at the endless blue above her. She allowed the sun’s heat to touch and caress her body. She wished that time would stop and that the moment would last forever.
But then the sun seemed to hiccup for just a second. “Wait, Joe? What was that?”
“What was what?” Joe asked.
“I thought I saw…” Confused, Rose payed more attention. Then she saw it again. A black shape flew in front of the sun and blocked out its light for just a second. And Rose recognized the shape’s large wingspan. “I did! I did see a Griffon!”
Joe tutted. “That’s not possible, Rose. We’re too far out of their territory. At this point they’d be breaking international law. Well I mean so are we but let’s face it, those Griffons couldn't even spell stealth.” Joe laughed at his own joke but was cut off by a piercing screech/roar.
“I told you, Joe! Only a Griffon could make that sound!”
Joe noticed the pair of shadows circling around their cart on the road. The sudden surge of adrenaline pierced through his spine and into his legs. Instinctively, Joe picked up his pace. Despite his jaunt, the two Griffons above easily kept the cart within their carrion circle. Joe’s eyes were glued to the sky and the ominous pinpricks that soared above them. Another screech, and one of the black dots grew larger. Just as Joe was able to make out the outstretched claws of the Griffon, Joe unfastened himself from the cart and dove to the dirt. He was able to just barely dodge the dive bomb. The Griffon’s claw cut the leather straps and sliced them clean off the cart. A rush of air as the Griffon looped back up to the sky to prepare for another deadly descent.
Rose was covering her head with her hooves. Her body was quaking in fear. She nearly jumped out of the cart when Joe grabbed her. He calmed her with a stern and determined eye.
“Rose, you hide under the cart. Keep the Grimoire with you and guard it with your life.” Joe shoved aside some flowers and revealed to Rose what she had been sleeping on this whole time.
“But Joe--”
“Just do it! Hurry before they attack again!”
Rose hoisted the large book and dropped to the dirt. When she rolled her entire body underneath the cart, Joe looked back to the Griffons.
“So much for a relaxing canter in the countryside.” Joe sighed to himself.
Now both Griffons were diving towards the ground. Joe made sure their attention was drawn to him and he galloped away from the cart. One Griffon got close and pointed its claws straight at Joe’s throat. Just then, Joe saw a large boulder to his right, sticking out of a grassy hill. Joe jumped to the side for the rock just as the talon swiped through the air. The other Griffon hot on his tail, Joe jumped behind the rock and the Griffon was forced to pull up to avoid collision. Its talons scratched against the stone as it changed direction.
Joe took a couple of calming breath, but then the wind was knocked out of him. One of the Griffons adjusted its trajectory around the rock and slammed right into Joe. A mangled ball of fur and feathers tumbled down the grassy hill. Joe wrestled against the Griffon. He could feel the talons scratching at his skin and clothes. He shook his head vigorously to avoid his eyes being pecked at. Joe reached over against the slashing talons and held down a button on his watch. A thin red beam shot from the watch and seared Griffon’s fur. The Griffon shrieked in pain and jumped off Joe. As Joe sat up, he was able to get a clear look at his attacker. It padded out its smoking grey fur with a pair of grey talons from which grew grey feathers. The Griffon angrily glared at Joe with grey eyes and snarled its grey beak. The soulless monochrome body gave Joe horrible memories of the Friendship Express.
The Griffon took to the skies again and rejoined its grey comrade at circling around Joe. They were preparing for another dive. Joe inspected the scars in his fur and the tears in his suit. His bow-tie succumbed to a particularly horrible rip and fell off his neck into the dirt. He growled in anger and quickly removed his saddlebags. He hastily opened the bags (careful not to set off the potion) and pulled out the folded components of the catapult. He unfolded and attached the planks of wood and rope, still mindful of the Griffons as they prepared to strike from the sky. Joe locked back the tension in the arm and looked to the sky. The Griffons were already diving at full speed. He looked around frantically. The only thing around him of decent size was the boulder he futilely hid behind earlier. He focused his horn and concentrated hard. The boulder was perhaps a tad too large, but still Joe forced the rock into the air. He could hear the growing whistle of death above him, but he needed to concentrate. Slowly he hovered the massive rock above the catapult and lowered it onto the bucket. The catapult’s size and weight barely supported the boulder.
Joe’s temples pounded with splitting pain. He ignored it and readied himself next to the lever. He could make out the grey color of the Griffons as they grew closer and closer. Joe’s immediate instincts told him to release the lever but he waited. Closer and closer the Griffons flew. Almost. Almost.
“Bon Voyage!” Joe yelled as he pulled the lever. The arm was released from its tension and the catapult seemed more than eager to get rid of the boulder’s weight. The rope snapped off of its pulley and the arm popped straight up and the boulder flew through the sky. The grey Griffons, dumbed by chaos magic, still continued to fly straight. By the time they noticed that a seemingly small pebble was suddenly growing larger by the second it was too late. The boulder collided with both Griffons. A pathetic yelp echoed through the countryside followed by a sickening crunch as the boulder fell back down to the earth.
Joe inspected his catapult. The wood was splintered at the key joints and the pulley was completely torn from the rest of the machine. Joe decided to leave the broken down equipment and returned to Rose. He hoofed the shivering mare out from underneath the flower cart. She was still shivering with fright and clung onto the Griffon’s Grimoire like it was a lifesaver at sea. Joe shook her back to her senses.
“Joe!” she cried happily, “Are you alright? What about the Griffons?”
Joe smiled and hugged her protectively. “Don’t you worry. I just killed two birds with one stone.”