The Polar Express: Dual Blade's Journey to the North Pole

by TwinSwords79

Hot Chocolate! // Virtus' Ticket

The train started to move again as Conductor Shining grabbed the radio near him and spoke into it, the speaker stretching to the entire car so the kids could hear him clearly. "Your attention please...are there any Polar Express passengers in need of refreshments?"

Everyone raised their hands up as the stallion smiled again. "I thought so..."

He opened up the green slide door and 8 waiters came into the passenger cars and started tap dancing. They turned a few seats around and place a cloth down into a small table for every two seats. Then they start singing as some music starts playing in the speakers.

All the waiters backflipped and grabbed the cloth they used for the tables, making whatever was under the cloth disappear. They quickly grabbed everyone's empty cups, putting them on trays, and going out of the open slide door with Shining following them and closing it behind him.

All the children felt so relaxed as they sighed from being refreshed. Dual had a smile on his face as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, licking his lips.

"Trixie doesn't know what was in that hot chocolate...but it tasted heavenly..." The unicorn looked back at Dual. "What did you think of it, Dual?"

"It tasted so incredibly amazing...I don't think I'll ever enjoy drinking normal hot chocolate ever again..." Dual replied, looking up at Trixie, he then looked to his right. "What did you think of it Virtus?"

He caught Virtus reaching under her seat and picking up the extra cup of hot chocolate she hid from the waiters and stood up with it. "Hey, what are you doing?"

The wolf pup beckoned her head towards the door with a smile. "This is for the kid in the back."

"Don't you think Conductor Armor should do that for you?"

Trixie nodded. "Yeah, it's against Railway Safety Regulations for a kid to cross moving train cars without an adult."

Virtus grabbed the door handle leading to the next car. "Don't worry, I'll be fine"

"Are you sure?" asked Dual.

Virtus was about to open the green slide door but didn't after Dual said that. The 3 kids then heard the sound of footsteps walking up to them. Dual, Virtus, and Trixie looked and saw that Shining looking at Virtus with his fists on his hips.

"What about that pup in the observation car, did he get any refreshments?" The stallion asked, earning three head shakes from the kids, he then smiled at Virtus. "Well come on, I'll take you to him."

Dual and Trixie watched as Shining opened the door and held Virtus' shoulder. "Watch your step now, watch your step."

Once the door closed, Dual got up to stretch his legs a bit but in the corner of his eye, he sees a ticket sitting in Virtus' seat. "Uh oh...."

Trixie looked at him. "What?"

The pegasus colt picked up the ticket from the seat and looked at it. "Virtus forgot her ticket...and it hasn't been punched yet!"

"So? Leave it there till she gets back."

Dual looked at the door The Conductor and Virtus went out of and then looked at Trixie. "But what if he asks her for her ticket while they're over there, I'm gonna give it back to her..."

The colt walked over to the green door and opened it while Trixie was still trying to get his attention. "Hey Dual, What are you doing? You're gonna get us all in trouble!"

Dual closed the door and was met with a blue doorknob door, once he opened it, he felt a strong gust of cold wind hit him and the sound of The Polar Express’ wheels rattling very loudly along the tracks. Dual’s mane and robe swished violently in the wind as he looked down and grabbed the door frame, seeing the coupling swaying left and right, it was pretty icy and the train was moving very swiftly as he could tell by how the tracks were blurred a bit.

Dual gasped as he looked up at the door leading to the next car, seeing Virtus hand the cup over to the kid he stopped the train for. The colt looked back down at the coupling, thinking of a way across but then all of a sudden, Virtus' ticket flew out of his hand.

The pegasus tried to grab it but it got too far and flew away from the coupling and down the bridge that the train was on. He watched from the coupling as her ticket blew away in the strong blizzardy wind as he felt like he wanted to cry.

"No...What am I gonna do?! I just lost her ticket....she'll never forgive me for this..."

Dual looked up again and saw Shining and Virtus were coming back, he gasped and quickly got out of the wind by heading back inside and closing the doors.

Dual slumped into his seat as Trixie saw him. "Hey 'Daredevil', you gave Virtus her ticket back?"

Before he could answer, they heard the sliding door open. Both kids looked back and saw Shining close the door as Virtus sat back in her seat, waving cutely at both of them.

The white stallion then walked over to her. "Excuse me Virtus...I'm sorry but I believed I've forgotten to punch your ticket." He took out his puncher and clicked it twice, holding his hand out. "May I?"

Virtus checked her robe pockets, looking worried. "That's weird...I remembered I had my ticket...but it's gone."

The adult stallion was confused too. "You mean: You've lost your ticket?"

"She didn't lose her ticket..."

Shining Armor, Virtus, Trixie, and the rest of the passengers looked at the 12-year-old pegasus. "I did..."

Dual got up and looked at Virtus. "You forgot it on the seat and I tried to return it to you...but the wind was too strong and it blew out of my hand..." Shining sighed heavily and put his puncher back in his pocket.

The pegasus colt took his ticket out of his robe pocket and held it out for the wolf. "Here, you can have my ticket..."

Virtus reached for it with a small smile but Shining Armor quickly snatched it out of Dual's hand. "AH! These tickets. Are not. Transferable..." He then slowly lowered his hand with the ticket towards the pegasus and he gave it back to him. Dual puts his ticket away as Shining held his hand out towards Virtus. "Young pup...you'll just have to come with me..."

Virtus nodded and slowly stood up, grabbing the stallion's hand and was being led back to the door leading to the last car, she glanced back at Dual one last time with a sad face as the blue colt looked down, feeling completely bad as Shining opened the door and closed it, looking at the colt with a disappointed look.

Trixie then spoke up. "You know what you just did Dual?! She's gonna get thrown off the train!"

The colt looked back. "What?!"

"Yeah...he's probably gonna throw her off from the rear...its standard procedure." Dual ran to the door and looked out the window, seeing Shining Armor take Virtus out on the back platform and moved her in front of him, with his hands on her shoulders, he guided her to the right as Trixie continued talking. "Ya know so she won't get run over by the wheels...they may slow the train down a bit but they'll never stop it."

"Stop it? That's it!"

"What?"

"I have to stop the train again!"

"No, stay away from the brake! I had enough headaches!"

Dual didn't listen as he went to the cord again, placing two hands on it but before he pulled it down, he looked up and saw something clinging to the air vent cover.

He looked at it with a raised eyebrow and raises his hand up towards the object, grabbing it with his fingers and pulling it out. He then gasped when he saw what he pulled out of the vent cover was Virtus' ticket!

Trixie gasped too when she saw the ticket in his hand. "Wait...I thought you said you lost the ticket in the wind!"

"I-I did..but how did it get back here?!"

"Who cares?! You have to get the ticket to her right now! GO!!!"

Dual nodded and went to the green sliding door and opened it quickly, Trixie got up and looked at him before he opened the blue door leading to the coupling. "Put the ticket in your pocket so it won't blow away!" Dual listened and placed Virtus' ticket in his left pocket, remembering the hole in his right one as Trixie nodded. "Be careful out there..." She then closed the sliding door for him.

Dual looked in front of him and opened up the blue door, a familiar gust of wind hit his face, mane, and robe along with the loud wheel rattling as he looked down at the icy coupling again. He then looked at the door on the other side and put a determined look on his face.

He then held his breath and jumped from where he was, landing his feet right on the small platform on the other side, he slipped a little when he landed but he quickly grabbed a handrail near the door so he wouldn't fall. The pegasus sighed of relief as he opened up the door to the next car.

He sprinted to the end of the observation car, passing by the little gray wolf, and opened up the door to the outside platform, going on it and looking around. But to his shock, Virtus and Shining were nowhere in sight.

Dual's mane and robe kept blowing in the strong wind as he looked back inside at the shy wolf. He ran towards him and took out Virtus' ticket.

"Where did they go? What happened to them?!" The wolf looked at him, still silent as Dual showed him the ticket. "Please, she's in huge trouble! You have to help me here!"

The pup pointed at the window behind him, making Dual Blade look out of it, his eyes widening when he saw a light outside along with a silhouette of both Shining and Virtus, walking slowly on top of the roof. He then looked up and groaned, knowing where he had to go.

"Oh, great...you've got to be kidding me..."