//------------------------------//
// 3. All Aboard the Party Train 
// Story: Order-naries: Storm-chased 
// by CTVulpin 
//------------------------------//

“Agh…” Ashen Blaze hissed as Soul Mage twisted the fragment of Ash’s horn about with a tendril of spirit magic, trying to fit it back onto the jagged stump properly.

“Stop being such a baby, Ash,” Heart said, digging through a first-aid kit she’d found in the second car of the train.  “It probably wouldn’t hurt so much if you’d let us do a soothing on your headache.”

“You know perfectly well that doesn’t work on me,” Ash retorted.  “My soul’s so infused with the Shadowstar’s twisted energies that spiriter power hurts me, no matter how the two of you channel it.”  He winced again as Soul jiggled his horn again, settling it better.  “Just having your brother’s magic holding onto my detached horn is aggravating my headache.”

“That could just be in your head,” Soul said.  “So to speak.  We’ve never actually tried doing a soothing on you as a pony.”

“Yeah,” Ash said, “because there’s no point in trying.”

“Are you sure?” Soul asked.  “Your fear-gaze doesn’t transfer to your pony form, so there’s reason to suspect that other baggage you still carry from your Shadowstar days might not transfer, either.”

Ash rolled his green eyes up to give Soul an unconvinced look.  “My cutie mark is the cadre symbol of Meis Thamule,” he said.  “And while my body may change when passing into a different universe, I’m pretty sure my soul doesn’t.  Heart,” he said, glancing over at the pegasus, “please tell me you’ve found what you need.”

“Yes, yes,” Heart said, walking over with two tongue depressors and a roll of medical tape under her wing, “I’ll save you from the philosophical discussions now.”  While Soul continued to hold the broken horn in place, Heart laid a tongue depressor on either side and wrapped the horn tightly with the tape from bottom to top.  “There,” she said when she finished, “that should hold until you can get proper medical care.  You should probably avoid doing any magic, though.”

Ash sat up and gingerly touched his splinted horn with a hoof.  “Duly noted,” he said, glumly.  “You can stop holding my horn now, Soul.”

“Already have,” Soul said, pointing to his unlit horn as he walked away.  Ash climbed up onto a bench and slumped back with a grumble.  “I’ll go fetch you a glass of water so you can take an aspirin for the headache now,” Soul said, heading toward the back of the train in search of a dining car.  Just before he reached the end of the car, however, the door slid open and Iron Horse came bustling in.

“It seems we may have made a clean escape, everypony,” the conductor said.  “Canterlot has dropped below the horizon, and the skies are clear of any kind of pursuit.”

“Huzzah for good news,” Ash said, waving a hoof in the air half-heartedly.

Iron Horse nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.  “By the way,” he said as he put a hoof on the door latch, “we’ll be stopping in Fillydelphia in about forty minutes.”

“Hold it,” Soul said, grabbing the conductor’s leg with a spirit tendril.  “Why aren’t we going nonstop to the Crystal Empire?”

Iron Horse tried to shake his leg free, to no avail, as he replied, “Coal Hob thinks we’re pushing the repair your friend Gale made to our drive piston too far.  Fillydelphia’s the next city where we can switch over to a new, less damaged engine.  And before you ask, we’ve already signaled ahead, so there shouldn’t be much delay.”

“Ok,” Soul said.  “Sounds reasonable enough to me.  Any complaints or choice words on the matter, Ash?”

The ash-grey unicorn sat up and gave Soul and the conductor a flat look.  “Just get me the skvetchte water and headache pills already,” he said.





The train clanked and shuddered to a halt.  “Now arriving at Fillydelphia station!” Iron Horse announced.

“Fantastic,” Ash said, not moving from the seat where he was lying down, staring up at the ceiling.  “When do we leave again?”

“Shouldn’t be more than a few minutes,” the conductor said.  Just then, however, Coal Hob, the train’s engineer, entered the car with a grumpy look on his face.  “What’s wrong, Hob?” Iron Horse asked.

“From the looks of things,” Hob said, “whoever’s coordinating train switching here today is a sluggard.  There’s no replacement engine waiting for us yet.”

“There’s the other horseshoe,” Ash muttered.  He pointed to an imaginary object falling from the ceiling, punctuating its impact with a deadpan, “Clang.”

“Need a chill pill on top of that aspirin, Ash?” Soul asked teasingly.

“No,” Ash said, rolling off the seat and onto his hooves.  “My headache’s about cleared up, by the way.  It’s just… you know.”

“I’m sure we can afford a little wait,” Heart said.  “There’s still no sign the Storm King’s sent anything after us.  Uh, any idea how long we have to wait, Mr. Hob?”

“I’m going to go bug the stationmaster about that right now,” Coal Hob said.  “Best guess though, even if phrases ‘royal emergency’ and ‘major looming catastrophe’ can grease the wheels, it may still be the better part of hour to get everything ready.”

Everypony made disgruntled noises at that.  “Great,” Iron Horse said.  “Well, I know Engine 38’s here today, not doing anything, so pressure them to give it to us, Hob.  38’s a particularly fast and sturdy engine,” he explained to Ash, Heart, and Soul.

“So, we’ve got time to kill and bits left over from Twilight’s train fund,” Soul Mage said.  “What say we go get some lunch, and maybe find a doctor to look at Ash’s horn?”

“Food’s fine by me,” Ash said, “but we’re not wasting time with doctors.  I know exactly what they’d say: ‘check into a hospital right now’ or, because I refuse to not see this mission through, ‘keep the splint on and don’t stress it with magic until you can get to a hospital.’”

“We really should get a professional opinion,” Heart said, “but… You’re probably not wrong, Ash.”

Ash nodded once, justified, and headed for the exit door.  “Then let’s go,” he said.





The Order-naries found a café not too far from the station, and Ash insisted on sitting at one of the outdoor tables “so we can move quickly if things go wrong.”  After several minutes, however, the looks of pity and commiseration his broken horn drew from virtually every pony that walked by was starting to grate on his nerves.  Even after ordering, he’d retained his menu and tried to hide behind it under the pretense of examining the dessert options.  When the food arrived, he just sat with his head resting on the table, glowering at nothing in particular while occasionally nudging his eggplant sandwich and fries with a hoof.

“Hey Ash,” Soul said, trying to break his friend out of his funk, “tell us how the fries measure up.”

“Not in the mood for fries,” Ash muttered.

Heart and Soul exchanged a concerned look.  “Ash isn’t in the mood for french fries?” Heart exclaimed.

“His second-favorite food after stinim.” Soul said.  “Is the world ending?”

Ash groaned and rolled his eyes.  “Spare me the dramatics, you two!” he pleaded.

“But Ash,” Soul said, “building a comprehensive ranking of all french fries in the known… multiverse now, I guess - is like the one hobby you have.”

“Hmph,” Ash grunted sourly.

Heart cuffed Soul lightly on the head with a wing.  “Breaking your horn is weighing more heavily on you than you thought it would, isn’t it?” she asked Ash.

“I’m not used to being a cripple,” Ash said.  “If that’s the right word.”  He focused his attention on his food, and his horn started glowing fitfully.  Heart reached over quickly and tapped the end of Ash’s horn lightly, which was still painful enough to break the unicorn’s concentration.  “Skvetch,” Ash hissed.

“No magic,” Heart said sternly.

“It was just going to be simple telekinesis,” Ash protested.

“Oh?” Heart countered, “and would you ‘simply’ stand on a broken foot and expect not to hurt yourself more?”

“…Point,” Ash admitted.  He awkwardly shoveled a couple fries into his mouth with a hoof and chewed listlessly.

“Maybe you should actually consider a dessert,” Soul said.  “Some sugar might help you perk up.”

Ash swallowed his fries and glanced contemplatively at the menu.  Before he could give an answer to Soul’s suggestion, however, the menu was snatched up a cyan female dragon with downward-growing curled horns and stood only about a head taller than an average pony.  She stared at something on the back of the menu with fascination, seemingly oblivious to the bemused stares of the Order-naries, until Ash cleared his throat loudly and said, “Um, rudeness.”

The dragoness looked up from the menu with a scowl that was almost instantly replaced with sheepish shock.  “Oh no, that was rude of me, wasn’t it?” she said.  She set the menu back on the table, almost exactly how she’d found it, and said, with a tiny, hopeful smile, “Uh, I’m sorry I did not ask permission first?  I’m still learning the rules of pony friendship.”

“No kidding,” Ash deadpanned.  He grabbed the menu between his hooves and turned it to look at the back.  “What the skeb caught your eye on this anyway?”  He scanned the back quickly, and his eyebrows went up.  “Huh,” he said, “a whole section for dishes that incorporate gems.  This café caters to dragons.”

“I didn’t know there were enough, uh, friendly dragons in Equestria for it to be worth catering to them,” Soul said.  He gave the dragon a questioning look.

The dragon shrugged.  “I didn’t know either,” she said, “but I started hearing rumors of a group of dragons living in this city, so I came to investigate.  You ponies wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“We’re not from Fillydelphia either,” Heart said.

“Oh well,” the dragon said, turning to leave.

“What’s your interest in finding these dragons?” Ash asked.  “Normal dragon society too rough for you, and you’re hoping you’re not the only one who thinks so?”

“Ash!” Heart hissed at him.

The dragon whirled on Ash, her wings spread wide and her fangs bared.  “Dragon society is not too rough for me!” she exclaimed.  “I’m Dragon Lord Ember!  All the dragons in the world answer to me!”

Ash’s face scrunched up in skepticism as he looked Ember up and down.  “I don’t believe you,” he said at last.

“Seriously?” Heart exclaimed, giving Ash an incredulous look.  “You’re picking a fight with a dragon, right now and in your condition?”

“Please,” Ash said with a dismissive wave, “even with a broken horn, I could take a half-pint like her no problem.”  Ember growled dangerously at the comment, and Ash met her glare with a calm, stoic, confident stare.

After a few tense moments, Ember furled her wings and her snarl changed to a smirk.  “Wow,” she said, “you’re the first pony I’ve ever met who can both insult me and not flinch when I get annoyed.  You’ve got stronger nerves than some dragons.  What’s your name?”

“They call me Ashen Blaze,” the ash-grey unicorn answered.

Ember’s eye ridges rose slightly.  “That’s a rather dragon-ish name.  You’re not a dragon in disguise, are you?”  Soul Mage put a hoof over his mouth to muffle a sudden fit of laughter, while Gold Heart fidgeted in her chair with confused worry.  Ember and Ash ignored them, and Ember suddenly snapped her fingers as she realized something.  “Hold on,” she said, “I think one of Spike’s letters mentioned an ‘Ashen Blaze.’  That wouldn’t be you, would it?”

“Spike?” Ash exclaimed, his own eyebrows rising.  “Small purple dragon from Ponyville, assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle?  That Spike?”

“The same,” Ember said.  “So, if we both know him… does that make us friends?”

“It’s a starting point, at the least,” Soul cut in.  “Better still, you seem to have snapped Ash out of the mood he was just in.”  He turned and gave his sister a big grin.  “Ember’s practically part of the club already, don’t you think, Heart?”

Heart looked around at Ash, Soul, and Ember, and then relaxed.  “Sure,” she said.

“Cool,” Ember said.  “Spike seemed a little disappointed when I told him I wasn’t going to that ‘Friendship Festival’ thing Twilight was putting on today.  Maybe if I tell him I made more pony friends anyway, he’ll forgive me.”

“Eh,” Ash said, dismissively, “I wouldn’t worry about that.  Spike’s used to small disappointments.  Besides, the Friendship Festival didn’t, uh, quite work out anyway.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Heart muttered.

“Oh?” Ember asked, “What happened?”

Before anypony could answer, there was a low rumble of thunder from the seemingly clear sky, followed by amplified voice that gave the Order-naries a mild fright.  “Attention ponies of… this city!  This is the Storm King speaking!  I recently had the pleasure of taking over the capital of your lush little kingdom and taking your rulers captive.”

The Order-naries and Ember looked up and saw one of the Storm King’s zeppelins approaching Fillydelphia, backed by a trail of dark, rumbling clouds.  “That happened,” Ash said simply, answering Ember’s question.  He grabbed his sandwich and shoved as much as he could into his mouth, chewing quickly.

“How did he manage to sneak up on us like that?” Soul wondered.  Ash shrugged and mumbled something like “doesn’t matter” around his food.

As the zeppelin grew closer, the Storm King himself could just be seen on the deck, speaking into an oversized bullhorn held up by two of his soldiers.  “Unfortunately,” the Storm King continued, “some ponies decided to try and be heroes and ran off with one of the Princesses.  I know they’re in this city somewhere, so here’s the deal: turn over those ponies and the Princess, and I won’t bring the full might of my army down on you.  Oh, and if you also surrender any magic treasures you may have, I may forgo sending any of my army down to sack the place.”

Ash rolled his eyes as he finished off his sandwich.  “What a showboat,” he said.

“Well, what do we do?” Soul asked.  “That ship’s too high up to hit with an Element Wheel from here and you’re unarmed, Ash – no offense – but if we make a run for it again, Stormy might just attack the city.”

“That would slow him down,” Ash pointed out.  Heart and Soul both gave him a flat look, and he quirked an eyebrow at him.  “Distasteful, I know,” he said, “but true.”

Ember stared up at the zeppelin with a thoughtful look, and then cracked her knuckles.  “I can distract him, if you want,” she said.

“I’d be most grateful if you could, Ember,” Ash said, “but are you sure you can handle it?”

Ember looked askance at Ash.  “I’m the Dragon Lord,” she said.  “I’ve matched fire with dragons bigger than that ship and won.  Besides, if that guy ruined the Friendship Festival, then he must have hurt Spike in some way, and I won’t let that stand.”  Without another word, she spread her wings and took off into the air.

“Hey, what do you know” Soul said, smiling, “a dragon’s on our side for once.”

“Spike doesn’t count?” Heart asked.

Ash stood up.  “Enough jabber,” he said.  “Let’s get back to the train station.  Hopefully they’re ready to go so we can make the most of Ember’s efforts.”

“Right,” Heart and Soul said, getting up in unison.





The Order-naries arrived just as a big, black train engine was backing into the hitches at the front of their train.  Iron Horse was standing on the platform watching the process until Coal Hob the engineer poked his head out of the engine’s window.  “Hob,” the conductor said, “that’s not 38.”

“I know,” Coal Hob replied with a grin, “it’s Old 97!”

“Oh!” Iron Horse exclaimed, looking mollified.

“Is that good?” Ash asked as he and the twins approached.

“Old 97’s a legend,” Iron Horse answered.  “Strongest engine of its generation, and still able to out-pace newer engines.  I thought it was running on the Manehatten line today, though.”  He looked back at Hob questioningly.

“It was,” Coal Hob answered, climbing out of the driver’s compartment to check that the engine had hitched to the train properly, “but it just so happened to be here ahead of schedule, and when I mentioned that we were ‘escorting’ Princess Cadance, they told me to take it, and they’ll have 38 take over 97’s line.”

“Wonderful,” Ash said, heading for the first car.  “All aboard and let’s get going then!”

“But what about... that?” Iron Horse asked, looking up at the sky.  Just as he sighted the Storm King’s zeppelin, Dragon Lord Ember had reached it, apparently traded words with the Storm King, and then flew back a short way and unleashed a huge plume of purple flame that engulfed the bow of the ship.  The flames caught on several points, including some of the lines leading up to the zeppelin’s envelope.  While the satyrs started rushing about to put out the fires, Ember strafed the ship with more focused bursts of fire breath.  “Ah, never mind,” Iron Horse said.  “All aboard indeed!”





The train had been underway for several minutes and the Order-naries were starting to relax when a sudden thump on the roof of their train car put them on guard again.  Heart and Soul got up to investigate, but only made it a little way down the aisle before the rear door slid open and Ember walked in.  “I sent ‘em packing,” she reported with casual pride.  “I doubt they’ll be able to stay in the air very long, either, with everything I managed to set on fire.”

“Thank you, Ember,” Gold Heart said.

“You caught up to us just to tell us that?” Soul Mage asked.

Ember shook her head.  “That Storm King creature said that wasn’t the only airship he had,” she said.  “I thought you ponies would need help if more come after you, and friends help each other with their problems, right?”  She walked closer to the group and froze mid-step when she caught sight of the petrified Cadance.  “I’d like to know more about what I’ve gotten involved in, as well.”

Ash chuckled.  “Fair enough,” he said.  “Take a seat; I’ll tell you what we know.”