“Okay, that’s everything.”
Ticket Stub’s eyes sought out Lex when an immediate reply wasn’t forthcoming. “We’ll head for Canterlot now…” His tone of voice made it clear that he was seeking permission, rather than making a declarative statement. Not deigning to acknowledge the deferential pony, Lex instead turned his eyes to the shipping car one more time, mentally reviewing the preparations they’d made.
The last hour had been one of frenetic activity. Of the thirty-four new survivors that Lex had brought to the camp, thirteen had been so debilitated that they couldn’t walk on their own. Of those, the doctors had determined that eight were in bad enough shape that they needed to be taken to a hospital as soon as possible. The others either weren’t severe enough to warrant being subjected to the rigors of travel or, in one case, were so bad off that they were currently undergoing emergency surgery.
The next order of business had been to determine how many doctors would make the trip with them. That had been much more difficult; they’d needed to take into account how many the camp could afford to spare, as well as the logistics of how many ponies could feasibly travel in the car; eight patients plus Fencer and her four companions were already a considerable number. In the end, the medical ponies had elected to send three of their number along with the patients. Lex had expressed skepticism over that small a number, but for once he’d let House Call talk him down, the latter assuring him that unless all of the patients went into shock at once three doctors would be sufficient to treat them. “That,” House Call had said, “and they can always have those other ponies you’re sending along assist them.” That had earned a raised eyebrow from Lex, but the other stallion had assured him that, for basic tasks, they’d be sufficient.
Once all of that had been determined, the next order of business had been to retrofit the shipping car as much as possible in order to ensure the health and safety of the ponies that would be riding in it. Unfortunately, there was only so much that could be done in that regard. The hospital beds that they’d brought back had their mattresses removed and laid on the floor of the car, since the beds themselves were too likely to tip over during the journey, even if their wheels were locked. The train crew had several oil lanterns that they’d attached to the ceiling so that there’d be sufficient light during the nighttime hours. Lex had inspected those personally, aware of the potential for disaster if even one lantern fell during the trip.
After that had been loading sufficient food and drink for everypony. They’d used several of the discarded shipping crates for the former. The latter had initially been trickier, but the train crew had that covered: apparently it was standard procedure to bring along empty ten-gallon liquid containers so that a portion of a tank car could be siphoned off and tested for freshness at its destination. They’d filled six of them, two each of water, juice, and milk, at the doctors’ instructions; that was technically more than they’d need, but they’d wanted to err on the side of too much rather than too little, and Lex had agreed.
It had been full dark by the time they’d been ready to start loading the patients. The doctors had gently brought each of the injured ponies – some groaning at even the slightest motion, others so unresponsive that they looked like they’d expired already – and loaded them onto the train. Now there was nothing left to do but depart.
Satisfied, Lex nodded to Ticket Stub. “Go.”
“R-right!” With one last look at Sonata, still right by Lex’s side, Ticket Stub scrambled back to the engine.
A moment later the train’s whistle sounded, and then its wheels slowly began to turn.
“I still don’t want you to go.”
Granola Bar smiled serenely in the face of Piggy’s pouting, standing at the edge of the converted train car. “I know, but I have to.”
The little stallion had been keeping his distance from them ever since last night, when they’d chastised him for being so blithe about Turbo’s death. Although it hadn’t been much of a rebuke, it had been enough to send him into a sulk for an entire day, with only the train’s arrival – and the subsequent meal – cheering him up. Even then, he’d still been standoffish, quite clearly wanting everyone to know that he was mad at them. That had lasted until a half-hour ago, when he’d seen Granola Bar and the others helping to ready the train. The fat little earth stallion’s curiosity had gotten the better of him then, drawing him closer to ask what they were doing.
Finding out that “his gang” were all leaving had not sat well with Piggy, and he’d ordered them to stay. When they’d all ignored his command, he’d started to throw a temper tantrum, escalating it when they didn’t immediately move to appease him. But when he’d flung himself in front of the entrance to the shipping car, whining and kicking his legs in the air and very nearly disrupting the doctors’ efforts to load the sick and injured ponies, Granola Bar had quickly swooped in to usher him out of the way. She’d seen the look that Lex had given Piggy at that point, knowing that he’d come very close to getting cursed or worse.
She’d spent the last few minutes talking the little guy down, and had made some progress when she’d heard Ticket Stub announce their imminent departure. She’d quickly trotted back to the shipping car, with Piggy following her until the edge of the platform, triggering a new round of whining. “If you leave, I’ll tell my mom on you when she gets back!”
Granola Bar saw her friends roll their eyes, with Slip ‘n’ Slide muttering darkly under his breath, but all she felt was tickled by Piggy’s behavior. It was like watching a small dog yapping at a giant boat in the harbor: so ridiculous that it was adorable. He’s such a little fusspot. “You don’t have to worry, we’ll just be gone for a few days and then we’ll come right back.”
That earned her a few looks from the other ponies in the car with her, but fortunately Piggy didn’t seem to notice, his indignant look changing into one of childish frustration. “You had better!” he huffed. “And buy me something nice while you’re in Canterlot! If it’s really good I might forgive you!”
Barely able to stop herself from laughing, Granola Bar instead smiled widely, nodding as she waved to Piggy. The train had already begun to move, and he trundled down the platform, little legs pumping as he tried to keep pace with it. “Things will be really different by the time you get back!” he yelled. “My mom’ll come home, and we’ll take back all the money that Lex guy stole from us! And then we’ll run this town again!” He was already starting to huff, breaking into a gallop as the train began to accelerate. “So you better come back! You hear me? You better come back or I’ll be really mad at you!”
He yelled that last part as he reached the edge of the platform, almost falling over as he skidded to a stop. Knowing that the words were as heartfelt as could be expected of him, Granola Bar waved one last time, then stepped back into the train car, pulling the sliding door closed with a loud “thunk.” Still chuckling over Piggy’s antics, she gave a rueful shake of her head as she turned around…and stopped as she saw everyone giving her a pained look. “What?”
“Nothing,” started Fencer hesitantly. “It’s just…”
“You’ve got really weird taste in stallions,” finished Funshine awkwardly.
Ticket Stub almost collapsed with relief as the train sped off into the night. He wasn’t the only one, with more than a few of the crew exchanging hoof-bumps and pats on the back. More than a few were talking about taking a vacation after this, and Ticket found himself agreeing. Even though this was supposed to be my vacation from the beginning!
“What was up with that Lex guy, though?” The question made Ticket grimace, glancing at the stallion who’d asked it. “I mean, didn’t he look like the villain out of some fantasy novel, with his weird shadow and scythe and everything?”
“Forget that!” snorted a mare on the other side of the engine compartment. “I wanna know what beauty treatments his girlfriend uses! I’ve spent an entire day at the spa and never looked that good!”
“I’ll tell you what,” spoke up another pony. “Those didn’t look like any flood victims to me. My bathtub overflowed one time while I was out, and I had to move into a hotel while it was being cleaned up, and those ponies looked a whole lot worse than anything I went through.”
“Yeah, but that’s because this was a whole town,” shot back another.
Ticket’s ears folded down as conversations sprung up one after another about everything they’d just witnessed. While he knew it was everypony’s way of relaxing after everything they’d just been through, it was the last thing he wanted to think about right now; just thinking about Lex and Sonata and everypony in Vanhoover felt exhausting, and he was already tired enough that he felt ready to go to sleep standing up. All the more reason to turn in, he decided, making his way toward the back of the engine.
Normally, non-passenger trains were set up with a single sleeping car for the train’s crew. However, this particular voyage had hired so many attendants – necessary for handling such a huge shipment – that one sleeping car hadn’t been enough. Rather than slow them down by adding a second, the decision had been made to use a standard passenger car instead, since those had more padded benches than a sleeping car had beds. It wasn’t the most comfortable arrangement, even with the blankets and pillows that had been passed out so that everypony could lie down and catch some shut eye, but at the moment Ticket Stub found himself looking forward to it as he crossed into the passenger car-
-and was met with the sound of Coal Hopper throwing up.
Fortunately, she’d stuck her head out one of the windows, but it was still enough to make Ticket Stub stop in his tracks, not sure what to do. His years as an attendant told him that he should go over and ask if she needed any help. But from what he knew of Coal Hopper from several days of working with her, she wasn’t the sort of pony who’d appreciate that. Helplessly, he glanced around the train car, but it was just the two of them; apparently everypony else was still relaxing in the engine. Which is probably what I should do, he decided.
But before he had a chance to put that thought into action, Coal Hopper pulled her head back in and turned around, freezing as she made eye contact with him. For a moment neither of them moved, then Coal Hopper let out a sigh, climbing onto the nearest bench. “What are you looking at?” she muttered weakly.
Knowing that he couldn’t leave now, Ticket Stub desperately tried to come up with the least offensive thing he could think of. “Uh…how’re you doing?” He mentally kicked himself as she shot him a dark look. Obviously she wasn’t doing very well! “I mean, um, where’ve you been? I didn’t see you after Lex sent you to talk to the doctors about preparing to move those sick p-”
“Stop.” Coal Hopper grimaced as she said it, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth as though she were in pain, her face taking on a green tint. “Just…don’t talk to me about that right now.”
That was enough to shift Ticket Stub’s disposition from nervous to concerned, and he made his way over to her. “Did something happen?”
He half-expected her to snap at him, or maybe ignore him. But he didn’t expect her to start shaking all over, a fearful expression crossing her face. It was enough to set off alarm bells in his brain, and for a moment he just gawked at the sight of the most belligerent pony he’d ever known looking so terrified, before his attendant training kicked in and he took a nearby blanket and wrapped it around her. That seemed to help, as she let out a slow breath, her shaking starting to fade.
Seeing her calm down reduced Ticket’s anxiety, and he felt curiosity mounting in its wake, but he pushed it away. Asking her if something had happened had been what set her off. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again! Instead, he tried to think of the most considerate thing he could say under the circumstances. “Do you want me to leave?”
She glanced at him then, before her eyes fell to the floor, not answering. He was almost ready to interpret that as a yes when she shook her head. Surprised for the second time in less than a minute, Ticket nevertheless climbed onto the bench beside her. They sat there like that, listening to the clatter of the train, for several minutes before Coal Hopper found her voice again. “I saw something,” she murmured. “Back at that place we were just at.”
Ticket Stub nodded, not wanting to interrupt, and after several seconds went by Coal Hopper continued. “I found those doctors like Lex said, and after I told them to start getting everything ready, I was going to come right back. But then I noticed a bunch of ponies.” She fell silent again, and this time Ticket Stub could practically see her struggling to keep going. “They were digging a hole.”
Ticket blinked, not having expected that. His reaction must have shown on his face, because Coal Hopper glanced at him, snorting at what she saw. “I know, right?” she asked, sounding slightly more like her usual self. “So some ponies were digging a hole in the ground. So what? But there were a lot of them doing it, and you could tell they were making one big hole. Like, really big, like they were planning on burying a house or something. So I asked them what they were doing, you know? What they’d need such a huge hole for…”
She gripped the blanket around her tighter, shaking again. It was enough that Ticket was starting to feel bad. “Listen, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
But she shook her head again. “Just shut up and let me do this, alright?” Despite the words being harsh, her voice had almost no strength to it. Licking her lips, she continued. “So one of the ponies pointed west, toward the city, and I didn’t see anything. So like an idiot, I started walking that way, and after less than a minute there’s this awful smell, and I almost tripped on something because the sun’s almost down, and I looked at it…”
Her stomach gave an unhappy rumble then, and Ticket heard her gag before she took a deep breath. “It was a head. A pony head.”
Ticket’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
“And it wasn’t just that.” Coal Hopper’s voice had lost all its strength now, coming out in tight, wheezy breaths. “There were legs and tails and other b-body parts. They were scattered all over the place, as far as the eye could see. It was like, like hundreds of ponies had been b-butchered. Thousands…”
She’d barely managed to get that last word out before she ran to the window again, emptying her stomach noisily and leaving a horrified Ticket Stub sitting there, remembering what Sonata had so cheerfully told him about Lex’s exploits in Vanhoover…