//------------------------------// // Chapter 58 // Story: Princess Twilight Sparkle's School for Fantastic Foals // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// When the first of the harpy eggs detonated against the sides of the train, Sumac almost lost his mind from fear. Protective barriers slid shut over the slits that served as windows. In seconds, the barrage started in earnest and the sound was deafening. The walls of the train car, which were several inches thick steel plates, dented and buckled from the explosions. Sumac was pulled away from the walls, he was yanked from the bench and thrown down to the floor. Much to his surprise, he found himself in Gosling’s embrace, Gosling, who was quite calm given the situation. The metal of Gosling’s armor was cool and comforting against Sumac’s pelt. As the train was being hammered, Sumac felt something cold and hard being pressed against his head. Gosling’s helmet was far too big for him, and had no hole for his horn. No, wait, it did. Sumac felt the metal give and make an opening. As the helmet settled into place on his noggin, it shrank, becoming a perfect size for his head. Clutching Boomer, Sumac looked up at the pony who had given up his helmet. “Kid, we’re in for one wild ride,” Gosling said with a smile. “I have bad luck with trains. I need to stop taking them. You let one pegasus from the inner city ride a train and suddenly, the whole nation just falls apart!” The train rocked from side to side even more so than usual. The walls were now dimpled and dented. More eggs exploded and made a terrific din. Hearing terrified whimpers, Sumac looked over and saw that Octavia had her hooves pressed to her ears. He wanted to go to Pebble, but she was buried beneath her parents. Fearing for his life, he clung to Gosling and wished that the harpy egg shelling would stop. “I sent a message to Celestia for help!” Tarnish shouted. “She said to hang on, help is coming! We just need to hang on!” The whole train shuddered and Sumac heard a rat-a-tat-tat sound. It was somehow even louder than the exploding harpy eggs. The rat-a-tat-tat noise became a never-ending mechanical stutter and the whole train creaked with metal fatigue. There was so much noise that Sumac’s ears were ringing, filled with invisible bells whose chiming did not ease up. “Get on a train with Gosling, Princess Luna said!” Seville shouted as he grabbed Gosling and held on. “It’ll be fine, Princess Luna promised, everything will be fine! This time it will be different! You have nothing to worry about!” “Well, so far, we ain’t dead yet,” Gosling yelled back over the explosive ruckus. “I’M NEVER GETTING ON A TRAIN WITH YOU AGAIN!” Seville shook his head and his eyes were glassy with fear. “I can’t even take pictures! We don’t want Sumac’s face being too visible to others!” Looking very calm, Twilight Velvet unwrapped a piece of hard toffee candy and popped it into her mouth. She pulled out her crossword puzzle book, a pen, and then went to work, looking for hidden words to circle. “Mrs. Velvet, how can you be so calm?” Seville asked, shouting to be heard over the detonating harpy eggs that slammed into the train. “Princess Celestia is sending help,” Twilight Velvet replied. “A pony should trust their princesses. Now, Seville, be a dear and set a good example for Sumac.” The whole of the world had gone mad. Sumac felt Boomer squirming against him, she was scared too, and her tiny sharp claws dug into his flesh. No doubt, when this was over, he would have some scratches, scrapes, and lacerations. She couldn’t help it and Sumac couldn’t bring himself to be angry at her. “Night Light, darling, is that teleportation reversal ward of yours holding?” Twilight Velvet asked in a voice silky with confidence. The dark blue stallion nodded. He sat on the floor beside his wife, looking every bit as calm as she was. Sumac could not figure out why some ponies were so calm, like Gosling, Twilight Velvet, and Night Light. The rat-a-tat-tat sound continued, but now seemed muted somehow, everything seemed muted now, as if it was muffled. The ringing sound in Sumac’s ears had grown louder. “Tele-whatsit?” Gosling asked. “Teleportation reversal ward,” Nightlight responded in a cheerful sounding voice. “Anything trying to teleport into the train will find themselves in the blazing fires of the locomotive. One wonders if one could run a train on harpies and changelings.” For once in his life, Sumac found himself in a position where he didn’t want to ask questions. He glanced over at Trixie and Lemon Hearts. Both were clinging to one another and Lemon was still spewing her guts out, whatever was left of them. He felt read bad for her, being as bad off as she was. When this was over, if this ended with him alive, he was going to be at her beck and call. A pegasus wearing heavy plated armor came stomping into the train car, stopped, and said, “A dragon just appeared overhead!” “Help has arrived,” Twilight Velvet announced in a calm, demure voice. “Dragons can’t teleport!” The soldier’s wings twitched against his armored sides. “They most certainly can.” Twilight Velvet looked up from her crossword puzzle book and clucked her tongue. “If Princess Celestia so wishes to teleport you, you teleport. She can move the sun by thinking about it and she can teleport a three hundred and forty thousand pound dragon if the situation requires it. That is why she is Princess Celestia, She Who Sits On High, and She of the Great and Burning Glory. Now, go and calm down, and be thankful that your princess sent help.” The soldier nodded, licked his lips, and then vanished through the door. “I’m gonna kiss me some of that Great and Burning Glory—” “Gosling, darling, be a good colt and don’t talk that way in front of the foals.” “Yes Mrs. Velvet, my bad.” There was a terrible roar that was somehow louder than the never-ending rat-a-tat-tat and the explosive shelling of the harpy eggs. The roar was so loud that it was inside of Sumac’s head, and it hurt a great deal. He was about to say something when Twilight Velvet’s horn glowed and then, all sound was muffled. There was another roar, and then things got hot. The train gave a violent lurch and the screeching of metal joined the cacophony of sounds. It was like an oven in the train car, and it kept getting hotter. Sumac let out a panicked scream when he saw the ceiling above him begin to ripple. “Oh dear, I don’t think Gorgonzola knows what her flames are doing to the train.” Twilight Velvet stuffed her book away and her pen as well. Her horn glowed and then her voice was everywhere all at once. “TAKE EMERGENCY MEASURES NOW! SHIELD SPELLS AND COOLING SPELLS! GIVE THEM ALL YOU GOT OR ELSE THIS TRAIN WILL MELT LIKE BUTTER ON CELESTIA’S BACK!” “Help me! Somepony please hold Lemon so I can do what needs to be done!” It was Seville that responded to Trixie’s request, and he staggered over to where both Trixie and Lemon Hearts were. He flopped down to the floor and held Lemon while Trixie got up. Wobbling a bit on her bad leg, Trixie joined Night Light and Twilight Velvet, who were already together. Vinyl Scratch extracted herself from a the pile of ponies she was buried under and she too, made her way to the others. Lemon Hearts tried to get up to help, but Seville pulled her back down. Four immensely powerful unicorns came together, standing in the middle of the car, facing one another. Twilight Velvet’s horn glowed with a fierce intensity and the whole train car was filled with a powerful thrumming that made Sumac’s teeth vibrate in his jaw. The inside of the train car began to frost over and ice crept up the walls and over the ceiling. Night Light’s horn was set ablaze and a powerful shield spell lined the train car, pushing upwards where the ceiling was starting to buckle and melt. Trixie and Vinyl both added their magic to the group effort and then the four unicorns just stood there, unmoving, eyes closed, all of them locked into deep concentration. Even with the powerful magic, it was still hot in here. The ice melted and steamed even as new ice formed to replace it. Sumac could see waves of heat shimmering from the walls. “Kid, it’s gonna be okay,” Gosling said in a reassuring voice. “Do you know why?” “Why?” Sumac asked, grateful for the distraction. Gosling’s voice was muffled, but he could make it out. “Because I’m pretty,” Gosling replied in a cocky voice as Hotspur groaned. “I don’t see how being pretty will save us.” Sumac narrowed his eyes and shook his head. He looked up in time to see Hush rolling his eyes. “Well, see, I’m pretty and Princess Celestia wants to have pretty little foals with me. I’m an asset. She wants the best lookin’ foals, and who can blame her? I’m so good lookin’ she sent her dragon friend to save me.” Gosling gave a comforting squeeze to the little foal he was holding. Sumac rolled his green eyes so hard that he almost pulled a muscle. He liked Gosling, but the pegasus was a little full of himself. Sumac looked up at the pegasus holding him, and then realised what a risk that Gosling was taking by not wearing his helmet. He had nothing to protect his head, his face, his good looks. If something bad happened, Gosling was vulnerable. Gosling, the pretty pegasus, had put his good looks on the line. His fine features were at risk. While Sumac didn’t understand all of it, there was just too much going on right now to have a good think, he realised that there was more to his pegasus protector than just good looks. Of course, there had to be. Princess Celestia wouldn’t marry a pony just for his good looks, would she? The ceiling continued to ripple and sag. The train lurched so hard that for a moment, Sumac was certain that it was going to derail. It had leaned over so far to one side that Sumac had started to slide over the smooth metal floor. At the moment of no return, when he was certain that the train would fall over, something slammed into it and set it back on the rails. At the moment of impact, there were a few screams in the train car, Sumac among them. Blinking, sweating, almost soaked, Sumac realised that the explosive bombardment upon the train had ceased. He could still hear explosions outside, but the incendiary harpy eggs were no longer hitting the train, as far as he could tell. Sweat poured into his eyes and stung them. He was no longer clean, conditioned, and super fluffy. “Pray with me, Sumac—” “What?” Sumac squirmed in Gosling’s embrace, confused. “It’s a first tribes thing.” Hotspur leaned over and wrapped a foreleg around Gosling. “Just be respectful and go along with it, Sumac.” “Okay.” Sumac just sat there and didn’t know what to do. He was roasting, sweating, cooking inside of a rolling iron oven and being held by a pretty, pretty pegasus who wanted to pray. Well, it probably couldn’t hurt anything. What did he have to lose? “Close your eyes,” Gosling whispered, and somehow, it was heard over the horrible din. Doing as he was told, Sumac closed his eyes and felt Hotspur lean up against him. He was secure in a fortress made of fine fighting pegasi, wearing the best armor a soldier could hope for. There were four unicorns holding back the wrath of dragonfire. “Oh beloved alicorns up on high,” Gosling began in a low voice, “hear my prayer. Today, as with many other days, we faced our deaths, but you intervened. You heard our cries for help and sent a trusted protector. Once again, you have preserved us, and once again, we are obligated to prove ourselves worthy of you.” A strange feeling of utter calm overcame Sumac. It no longer mattered that the train might be melting, or that there was a fierce battle outside. The sound of Gosling’s voice was soothing, so soothing that Sumac almost felt sleepy. “We can’t even begin to imagine the many things you do to keep all of us safe. You love us all and desire our prosperity. Thank you, oh gracious alicorns up on high, for preserving your loyal and dedicated protectors, and giving us another precious day to serve you and protect that which you hold dear. With my last breath I shall serve you. Sun and Moon preserve us, Friendship guide us, and let Love sanctify us.” When Gosling fell silent, Sumac kept his eyes shut and took deep breaths. He felt better, but he couldn’t say or explain why. All fear had fled from him, his terror now gone. This was, for Sumac, an entirely new experience, and there was some strange magic present that he could feel, but not explain. Opening his eyes, Sumac said, “I feel funny.” “Yeah kid, I did too the first time Gosling did that. The first tribes, they worshipped the alicorns. I’s startin’ to think they knews something that the rest of us schmucks didn’t.” Hotspur’s armor creaked as he gave Gosling a hug. “Maybe they was right.” “The dragonfire is gone,” Twilight Velvet said in voice filled with relief. “We’ve been cleansed in fire and found worthy,” Gosling whispered as he gave Sumac another squeeze. “Everything is gonna be fine now, kid.” For some reason, Sumac believed what Gosling said. Everything was going to be fine.