Silvertail saw the party off close to the rail station and set sail back up the river. The little magic motor she had was very slow pushing against the current, but not having to paddle or rely on wind? She considered it worth every gold piece she had to save up to afford it. When the sun sank deep, she watched the water, wondering if another appearance would be made. She was not let down.
Glossy Weed's head popped free and peered back at her, and they stared at one another silently a few moments. Glossy tilted her head a little. "I don't usually see you watching the water like that."
Silvertail smiled. "I was looking for you."
Glossy recoiled in surprise. "For me? Afraid I'd sink that tub of yours?"
Silvertail softly tapped the rail in front of her. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to join me."
Glossy's scales darkened slightly. "That trick won't work! I won't be captured that easily."
Silvertail sank to her belly, watching Glossy. "Oh, I think I will capture you, but not the way you think."
Glossy cringed and swam away a little. "I... stop staring at me like that. You'll join me here, in the water!"
Silvertail tapped the deck of her ship with a hoof. "Or, you could join me, here on this boat, and I'll see you're fed forever. We could do honest work, for honest pay."
Glossy scowled. "Sounds boring." She rose up out of the water just far enough to wave her finned hooves at Silvertail. "You could be free! No more stupid air-breathers telling us what to do! Eating what you want, when you want it! If you don't like someone, you can wreck their stuff. Doesn't that sound fun?"
Silvertail slowly trailed a circle with her hoof. "Perhaps, but I'd rather watch a sunset with someone nice beside me. I'd rather do hard things, and celebrate them, instead of easy things that become boring. Those 'air-breathers' I just let off are risking their lives, but they are closer than we can be right now. Don't you want to be closer?"
Glossy approached the boat cautiously a moment, looking tempted, but then she sneered and vanished into the waves with a parting flip of the tail. She wasn't going to be convinced so easily, but Silvertail smiled. Perhaps she would eventually lure that horse out of the river.
It was a short hike from the river to the rail station, and everyone was in high spirits. The unicorn that sat behind the counter at the station smiled at them as they approached. "Oh! Hello there. Are you looking for tickets?"
Applejack tipped her hat. "Surely are. Going ta Viljatown."
"Ah, a grand place." He started counting heads. "Thirty gold please. Comes with complimentary meals and room enough to sleep. It takes the train a few days to get from here to Viljatown. For an extra five per person, you can have unlimited basic drinks."
Applejack looked faintly tempted, then tossed the idea aside. Rainbow wasn't here to drink with, and that was half the fun. She counted out thirty coins and set it down, and soon they had tickets. "Enjoy your trip."
They waited impatiently by the side of the tracks on the benches provided, and about an hour later, the train came into view. Unlike Equestrian trains, it didn't roll. It was held up on a bed of lightning and zipped along. Apple Bloom tilted her head. "It's not as fast as ours."
It was true; while certainly smoother, it lacked the pure power of a steam-based locomotive. It drew to a gentle stop in front of them and they boarded after showing their tickets to the dwarven conductor.
Sweetie tilted her head at the humanoid. "What are you?"
The dwarf looked shocked at the question. "What? I'm a dwarf of course! Where've you been hiding, wee lass? Everyone aboard! We got a schedule to keep."
No sooner than everyone getting onto the train, then it started moving. The dwarf stuck out a hand and grabbed a rail as it went by, swinging himself up onto the train with practiced ease.
The party soon found a compartment to house themselves and started to flop onto the provided soft bedding. Scootaloo watched the scenery scroll past. "Imagine if we had to walk all of that."
Apple Bloom snorted softly. "No, thanks. Ahm happy right here."
The general feeling overall was agreement. The train was an almost-wonderfully dull place. They had provided meals and it was warm and safe, and few complaints came of it. The days slipped between their hooves, and soon they were drawing close to Viljatown and its promise of home.
When the train pulled into the large city terminal, it slid in between many other trains and the doors opened to let everyone out. Applejack pointed to the ground. "Form up!" Once all the smaller members were gathered, she nodded at them. "This here's a big city, so ah don't want any o' y'all wandering off without Willow or ah at yer side, alright?"
Sweetie bobbed her head. "When do we call Twilight?"
Applejack turned to the exit. "We're goin' to try and get that done right now." She led them off the trail and Willow suddenly looked uncertain.
"You can handle this from here, yes?" she asked with a tilted head.
Applejack paused in surprise. "Ah, well, ah guess ah can if ah haveta, but ah was getting used to yer company."
Sunflower frowned. "They're not home yet! We're not done." He glowered at his mother. "Don't you even think about it."
Willow returned the harsh look at Sunflower and they stared at one another in a silent contest of wills. Apple Bloom tilted her head. "Don't get ta quarreling over our sakes or nothin'. We can handle ourselves alright."
Willow gestured at Apple Bloom. "See, they're fine. Let's go home."
Sweetie moved up and hugged Sunflower suddenly, squeezing him tight. "I'm gonna miss you!"
Sunflower growled and pushed Sweetie away. "We're not saying goodbye yet. You're not home and I'm not going anywhere while you're still here." He looked to his mother. "Go home if you want, but I'm not going that way."
Willow flexed her paws with obvious irritation, but before she replied, Applejack came between her and the others, gently nudging her back. "Ah know yer trying ta protect yer foal, but he ain't ready ta say goodbye yet."
Willow huffed. "He never will be..." She sagged. "He will leave me like his father, chasing after a girl."
Applejack cringed at the words. "Ya know that ain't true. He obviously loves you." She turned to the small ones and gave directions to the Drowsy Mare. "Go there and wait fer us. Tell the innkeep Applejack sent ya and Twilight sends her regards." When they had scampered off, she turned back to Willow. "We need ta talk."
Viljatown was more orderly than Murrage could hope to be, making navigation far less of a chore. Most of the faces they saw seemed friendly as well, though not all. Like any city, most of the people there were hurrying to get to where they needed to be, rather than enjoying the day. With no obstructions, they soon found the Drowsy Mare and pressed inside to find the titular drowsy mare slumped over the counter, her head resting on a comfortable and plush-looking pillow.
Their entry made her jerk awake and blink at them. "Oh, hello there!"
Sweetie advanced at the front of the group. "Hello! Applejack sent us, and Twilight says hello too."
The innkeep tilted her head. "They're both well? That's good. Twilight is a clever one. Few escape Madame's grasp once she has them." She yawned widely, jaw popping several times. "Sorry, are you looking for a room?"
Apple Bloom bobbed her head. "Yes please!"
"Sorry." She shook her head. "Miss Dusk is renting all the rooms. I don't know why she needs all of them, but she's paying."
Scootaloo flew up to Drowsy End. "That's not fair. Where is this 'Miss Dusk'? We'll talk to her."
"Like, did someone call my name?" A soft blue pony emerged from up the stairs. She looked a lot like Silvertail, but the coloring was off, and the cutie mark different, to say nothing of the nice clothes Sonata wore. "'Sup?"
Drowsy pointed at the three fillies and a kitten. "They want a room."
Sonata frowned a little. "Totally sorry, but I'm not giving up any rooms until they come back."
Sunflower rolled a paw. "They?"
Sonata crossed her forelegs and sat on her haunches. "They have to come back. I totally know it. Twilight's too curious to stay away."
Drowsy smiled. "Oh. They just mentioned Twilight."
Sonata glanced at Drowsy, then smiled down at the children. "Why didn't you say so before? Let's go. I'll totally get you a sweet room."
The girls smiled at the abrupt about-face in the conversation and soon they were all following Sonata into a large bedroom. "So, you know Twilight?" Scootaloo asked curiously.
Sonata snorted softly. "You could say that. She left me here, her and her friends, just pfft."
Sunflower blinked. "I thought you were her friend?"
"Was." She waved a hoof at Sunflower and he froze in place as she kicked the door shut. "But if you're here, she'll totally have to come get you little dudes."
Make sure those rooms are free of typos.
Oh dear, why do I have a feeling this is going to turn into a very sticky situation because of one foolish misguided unicorn?
Shouldn't that be "pushing against the current"?
Glossy's "scales" darkened slightly.
No more stupid "air-breathers" telling them what to do.
That first comma should really be a semicolon.
It was an "almost-wonderfully" dull place.
There are two spaces between "get" and "ta."
They soon found the "Drowsy" Mare.
Also, her head was resting on a comfortable and "plush-looking" pillow.
Their entry made her jerk "awake."
Hmm. They say you can lead a horse to water, but can you lead one out of it?
Willow's on the verge of a self-fulfilling prophecy. It doesn't count as him running away if you leave first, dear.
And Sonata's abandonment issues come back to bite the party. This is not going to end well. Especially not with the Crusaders' Will saves. Still, now I'm wondering what Lex is up to...
Alzrius already noted the typos I found.
You can lead a sea horse to freindhsip but you cant make it think.
Its like, deja vu, all over again.
5991548 Drowsy End fell asleep on the typos. There are worse ways to go.
Sonata is a Typo Hoarder!! T_T
really Sonata is going to try and hold the cmc hostage to get Twilight back.
propyl not the best idea out there.
Harts Fire
Didn't they meet a dwarf in Everrain? Why are they surprised to see one one the train?
5992448 They never got to ask what the other dwarf was. Willow mentioned it in passing, but that could have been a description of character (as in he was short) rather than a race. Now she knows for sure!
5991823 Having completed what seems to have been the last of their random encounters, the group arrives in Viljatown at last! But before we follow them any further, we give a final send-off to Silvertail. I have to say, that segment with Silvertail caught me by surprise not once, but twice. That's because I wasn't expecting her to get a section all to herself, but once we got it, I was expecting it to last for the entire chapter. That passage got me coming and going!
Insofar as how it went, I was slightly nervous at first. I was afraid that we were going to get a Pollyanna ending, with Glossy leaping at the very first display of friendship and eagerly abandoning her life as a deeptide horse if it meant being with Silvertail. Luckily, the story didn't go that way - attaining something easily is the quickest way to rob it of its value, and I was glad that the story didn't go that way. As it was, we got a very clear picture that Glossy wants Silvertail far more than Silvertail wants her, since Glossy was genuinely tempted to return to the land if it meant being with the sea pony captain, whereas Silvertail never once seemed close to abandoning her legs for fins. That takes some of the drama out of it, since Glossy seemed to want to be wooed, but the ambiguous-yet-hopeful ending put a more nuanced spin on it, making for a literal case of all's well that ends well. That's a satisfactory way to send off those two (for now, at least).
I'll admit though, I was biting my lip as I read through the passage with them on the train, simply because we know first-hand that being on a train does not mean that they're free from random encounters. I was waiting for history to repeat itself, but luckily this train ride was free from attacks or even interpersonal drama.
Instead, the drama was waiting for them when they disembarked in Viljatown. Having seen the trip through to what was, in essence, its completion, Willow was eager to take her kitten and head home, whereas Sunflower flatly refused to go. There's an interesting argument to be made regarding the letter of the purrsians' agreement versus the spirit of it. While I'd have to go back and look at the exact phrasing, there's a good argument to be made that Willow is in the right here, at least technically. It really seemed like she was just accompanying them to the location where they felt they needed to go; guaranteeing to remain by their side until they've actually returned to their plane of origin is, I have to admit, a bit over the top. She has, in all honesty, done her part.
Sunflower, of course, doesn't see it that way. He's made it quite clear that he doesn't consider the job to be done until they're actually back where they're supposed to be, and he won't leave them until then. That sets a much higher bar, and it's not that hard to tell that he's motivated not so much by a sense of altruism as he is by not wanting to be away from the ponies in general, and Sweetie Belle in particular...something that Willow is very cognizant of. In fact, I suspect that this is the real reason why she's eager to take Sunflower and leave; she knows full well that if he keeps following this path, he'll likely end up following them to Equestria...and staying there, leaving Willow completely alone.
In that regard, Willow showed her entire paw with her mournful comment to Applejack; she's clearly very upset at the prospect of losing her son. I have little sympathy where that's concerned, however - while letting your children go can be painful, that's what's supposed to happen. The entire point of raising children is so that they can one day set out on their own with strength, wisdom, and confidence, leaving their parents' house behind. You nurture children knowing that it's all so that they can leave you one day.
That's clearly more than Willow is able to adequately cope with, however, at least right now. That's because, the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that Willow has a serious number of issues that she's just not dealing with. Even if we overlook the incident with the train-wreck where she and Sunflower almost died, there's still any number of traumas that she's suffering from. It's fairly obvious that her wounds over her boyfriend abandoning her when she was pregnant (and hoping he'd marry her) haven't fully healed yet. Moreover, I'm suspicious regarding her apparent lack of trauma over her murder - she seemed to pick herself right back up after her resurrection, as though ignoring the fact that she died, and in what was probably quite a bit of pain and fear, especially since Sunflower was right there.
That's not even getting into the fact that she was also dealing with trying to reorient her entire worldview regarding whether other people are intrinsically selfish, or basically good. We've seen barely a hint of that struggle, but the hints have been there. Now she has to deal with her son possibly leaving her behind as well...once again leaving her completely alone, with no family (her mother at Longtail Manse notwithstanding), no friends (that she perceives, in how purrsians look at the concept), and no mate (since she seems rather reluctant to even consider romance again).
Quite frankly, I'm amazed that Willow is keeping it together as well as she has. She's practically a pressure-cooker at this point; hopefully Applejack can help her release some of her anxiety, before she finally fails to contain it entirely. It doesn't have to be anything big - given Willow's recalcitrant nature, I'm not expecting her to break down into tears or anything - but she does need to talk to someone, as Applejack mentioned before (though to be fair, she said she wouldn't push, either).
All of that's secondary to the return of some of the previous story's major supporting cast members, though! I can't contain how happy I am to see Drowsy again! The narcoleptic medium was probably the best of the tertiary characters, and much like with Silvertail, I really hope that she gets a bigger role to play this time around. It's very unlikely, due to having to run her business, her inability to remain awake very long, and her "life is fleeting anyway" attitude, but hope springs eternal.
Drowsy's reappearance is minor compared to Sonata's, though. So Sonata's been lying in wait all this time, apparently wanting revenge on Twilight and company for abandoning her? Wow, that's kind of a harsh stance for her to take, compared to her rather ditzy, happy-go-lucky attitude that she had before. On the other hoof, feeling like everypony left you behind without a backwards glance - Lex notwithstanding - can do that to a person. It's gotten bad enough that she's willing to use the foals as bait, which strikes me as a very bad sign. Stay Chaotic Neutral, Sonata!
I am, however, a little bit surprised that there was no element of recognition between her and Sunflower. They interacted a fair amount back at that train-wreck, that I recall; she was the one who found him in the wreckage, and then again when he wandered off "hunting" for everyone. He honestly seemed to have a crush on her, and she seemed to appreciate the attention (though that's her nature, after all), but here they were both acting like they didn't recognize each other, despite it only having been a few months. What's the deal?
Hopefully we'll find out more in the next chapter!
5993004 Glossy and Silvertail's relationship status: It's complicated.
You're giving Sonata too much credit. She was waiting for their return, sure, and doing other things, and then an opportunity popped up and she just grabbed for it. She didn't think it through, and when someone calls her on it, she's likely going to feel guilty about it, but right now! It's a perfect plan! What could go wrong?!
They already met a dwarf in Everrain. They should have either asked that dwarf this question or not been surprised by this one.
You just told them not to go anywhere without you.
Bye, Willow. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Sonata's rich now? When did that happen?
5995256 I am amused that no typos happened, just people being silly people. Sweetie didn't think to ask before, but she did now. This is not a crime, it's just someone not acting in an ideal fashion, which is pretty normal.
5995361 If you insist.
me
5995352 She's just CR 5, AJ alone should be able to beat her.
5995513
Right, but in the water where everyone takes a -5 to damage rolls except the deeptide, CR5 becomes quite a bit more dangerous.
So do I. Didn't they meet a dwarf back in Everrain?
And so they are running into Sonata...and yes, she is pissed about being ditched. ...Unfortunately this means Lex might be around too, (unless they've had a falling out,) in which case this'll just get even more unpleasant.
6180248 Sure, she saw one, but this time she got to question one.