It was cold as an arctic night, yet it wasn't the cold that made Rarity shiver. Never had any cry unsettled her like the sergeant's cry for Gratitude.
Rarity ran towards the sliver of flickering, fading light coming from the trainwreck in the distance. Gratitude had taken to wing and left her behind in the darkness.
She felt a powerful magic surge send a shudder through her body, and a bright flash of magical light, the distinct kind only a unicorn could see. She ran straight for it.
“What do you mean it was ineffective!? Use another, damnit!” the sergeant's angry voice pierced the darkness.
“This is the last-”
“I don't give a damn!”
“Sir, I don't-”
“DO IT, DAMNIT, THAT'S AN ORDER!”
“Yessir!”
She finally got close enough to see Gratitude producing some gold plate from one of her bags and lay it on a figure laying on the ice.
The fallen pony was lying on their chest, their jacket and shirts pulled up so the gold plate could rest directly on a bloody hole in her upper back. It was almost impossible to make out color in the dim light, but the pony's fur looked like it may have been white.
Her heart froze. It was too small to be Clockwork, and she didn't see wing-sleeves on the uniform. She hoped against hope that she was mistaken.
The plate Gratitude had laid on the figure erupted with light. From this close, the flash blinded her, hurt her horn with the magic and left her ears ringing.
By the time her eyes re-adjusted to the dark, the plate was gone, she just saw two gentle heaves on the pony's sides, heard two gurgling noises, then stillness again.
She ran up to the still figure, “Sweetie Belle!?” she cried.
“I – I'm sorry, there's nothing left we can do. If you tell her goodbye now, she might just hear it...” Gratitude said.
Rarity stepped closer. As she tried to bend down to look inside her hood – to get a glimpse of her face – she felt hard metal on her chest again.
Her peytral.
For a moment, time stood still as a sudden spark of hope ignited in her.
“Make it fast, we leave as soon as Clockwork drags the governor out-” The sergeant turned, looking outwards into the dark abyss with a terrified urgency in his voice, “-they'll have an entire company on us in min-” he turned back to look at Rarity, stopping in the middle of his sentence. “Grandeur, what are you doing!?”
“Peytral!” is all she said, inwardly cursing that she could magic on a dress in a second, but could only undress as fast as any Earth pony.
“Be quick – don't leave skin exposed for long,” Gratitude advised. “And don't move her any more than you absolutely have to!”
“Damnit,” the sergeant cursed.
“What?” Rarity asked, just getting to her undershirt.
“You're one lucky sonofabitch, mystery unicorn,” he said, walking up to her just as she finished taking her shirt off. He put a hoof on her shoulder against the peytral, grabbing it as she unclipped the clasp on the back with her magic. He looked her straight in the eye, “you keep that luck going, got it?”
She nodded.
He took the peytral off, and immediately the freezing bite of the air on her skin doubled. She broke into a cough, but the sergeant hardly noticed as he rushed the peytral to Snowglade.
It was too big for her, but Snowglade wasn't nearly as small as Sweetie Belle, so it still barely fit. He pulled Snowglade's shirts and jacket back down over it.
Rarity magicked the rest of her arctic clothing back on, and the trio watched their young friend with held breath.
“Gratitude! It's hard as hell hauling bodies through that hallway! Is Snowglade stabilized? I need a hoof!” Clockwork's voice sounded from the traincar.
“Sergeant, I need to be here in case Snowglade-” Gratitude started.
“Got it,” the sergeant patted the medic's shoulder and ran off to the traincar. “Bodies? Why is that plural!? I told you to get the Governor!”
Neither Gratitude nor Rarity as much as glanced away from their fallen comrade, or heard the rest of their conversation.
Suddenly, Snowglade's sides jerked.
They both gasped.
“Sweetie Belle!?” Rarity asked, as excited as unsure, then broke into more coughs.
But there was no sound of breathing from the younger pony.
Suddenly, with violent gagging, a gush of blood came out from her mouth as her entire body wretched – it was a horrid sight, but she wasn't still any more.
The medic lept a step closer, pulling her shirts back up and putting her hoof on her back. Snowglade had soaked the peytral's clasp with her blood, but as Gratitude wiped some away, fresh blood didn't soak the spot again. “She's stopped bleeding! Sweet sunlight, she's stopped bleeding!” Gratitude cried.
“And the peytral – it's warm!” Gratitude reached her hoof under Snowglade's chest and felt the gem. “The gem is hot to the touch! Snowglade, can you understand me? Can you speak?”
The younger pony heaved and wretched instead of breathing – but it was dry now, nothing more than strings of blood coming out from under her hood.
Finally in control of her own breath again, Rarity leaned down, trying to see under her semi-sister's hood, and putting a hoof very gently over her shoulder.
The scarf she'd had over her face was lying in a frozen pile of blood on the ice under her, so Rarity could see the horrific mess of tears on her face and blood on her chin – but she was alive – and her eyes met her look.
The younger pony slowly, shakily nodded, now breathing raspy, pained, jerky breaths – but breathing.
“You're going to make it, Sweetie! It's – it's okay, now!” she wiped the blood off her sister's chin and held her. “I gave you that fire ruby, it's been enchanted by – probably the most powerful magic being in the world!”
“N-no,” Snowglade weakly breathed. “W-we... You... Run...”
“She's right,” Gratitude said, stepping closer and producing a blanket from her bags. She spread the blanket around Snowglade as she spoke, “We need to move ASAP – but the the sergeant's the one leading that, we're just waiting for his cue.” She glanced back over her shoulder.
Rarity could hear some excitement – she glanced up to see The Sergeant and clockwork tying up some pegasus in a nightgown and managing some blankets by the train car – she ignored them and looked back down to her injured sister.
“And...” Snowglade's voice sobbed out her next word, “Glade...”
“Oh, sweetie, I know you're 'Snowglade', but... you're... kind of Sweetie Belle, too.” As she spoke, it came to her in a moment of clarity, “You must realize that by now. I recognize you. You recognized me. Maybe I'm not Grandeur but I kind of am – like if Grandeur lived a different life, in a different world, and you're – you're Sweetie Belle, just living a different life and with a different name. If my boutique failed and I had to do something else with my life, would I still be Rarity? Of course I would. It doesn't matter if you've lived a different life – you're still my sister, and I love you.” She gently stroked her little sister's mane behind her ear.
“G-Grandeur...” she cried. “I-I never thought... I – so scared...” her voice was raspy and weak.
Rarity gently shushed her, then looked back up to Gratitude. “What's going on? Perhaps you can explain now?” Impatience drenched her voice. “And what was that about guards being on us in a minute?”
“This is what we're out here for,” was all she answered with, nodding her head towards the trainwreck.
When Rarity looked – this time she recognized the new pegasus in the nightgown. Her mane was bleached white – but she knew hair alterations, and she knew her face, form, and even voice, now that she listened.
“Okay.” The pegasus was sheepishly nodding to the sergeant, a leash-like slipknot around her neck, with the loose end in the sergeant's hooves. Just next to her was a huge bundle of blankets. Clockwork was gone.
“Rainbow Dash!?” Rarity exclaimed.
“That – that name again?” came a slurred, confused response.
“What are you doing to her!?” Rarity cried to the sergeant.
“She's not 'Rainbow Dash', look away!” the sergeant ordered.
Snowglade's weak voice croaked from her lap, “Grandeur, please... trust them...”
She looked at her begging, injured sister, then glanced at Rainbow, uncertainty dominating the unicorn's expression. “But – they won't -” she looked back down at her.
Her hazel green eyes looked straight at her. “You... You have... to trust. Don't... interfere.”
She bit her lip, looking back at the pegasus who, except for her mane, looked and sounded exactly like Rainbow Dash.
"Gratitude! Status report on Snowglade!" the sergeant ordered.
"Miraculous recovery! The fire ruby Rarity has - it's unlike anything-"
"Great!" The sergeant's face lit up. Even through all the heavy gear, even with his harsh manner, and even with his choice of words, Rarity could hear the excitement and relief in his voice under the fear. "Thank Celestia! Let's make sure she stays that way! Now, as for you -" he turned to the prisoner, all joy gone from his voice, replaced with a sinister malice.
He grabbed the governor's shoulder and looked her in the eye, pulling out a knife. “Listen here you worthless pile of shit – if you so much as make a yalp or the slightest cry for help, or if you try to escape, I'll cut your stomach open and your guts will freeze to the ice and you'll die horribly in a way no pony can save you from. But keep up the pace with us, stay quiet, don't cause us any trouble and don't try to escape or play with your leads, and you'll be fine, got it?”
She just stared at him, eyes wide for a moment before replying - “uh-keep up, quiet, no trouble, don't play with rope, and-”
“And I won't slit your guts onto the ice and break your legs and cut off your wings,” he finished for her.
She shakily nodded.
“Good.”
“What-what happened to Twilight and Nightgale – pegasus stallion and purple alicorn I was in my car with?” the governor asked.
“Did I allow you to ask questions!?” the sergeant angrily barked.
“An alicorn – Twilight!?” Rarity echoed in shock.
“Shh!” Gratitude shushed her.
Snowglade groaned.
“Y-yes...” The prisoner replied, confused, but kept herself from asking anything back.
Rarity looked down to Snowglade's head lying in her lap, and gently slid herself out. “Snowglade, wait just a moment, I think somepony who can help is here!” she could barely contain her excitement.
Rarity shot over to the bundle of blankets.
“I said don't interfere!” The sergeant barked.
“Sir, I advise – please wait!” Gratitude shot at her sergeant, then asked Rarity loudly, “Do you know Twilight?”
“Yes!” Rarity answered as she unwrapped the head of a pony wrapped inside the blankets. She gasped. “It's her!” she cried in a hushed voice, holding a hoof up to her open mouth. She turned back to the new prisoner, “What happened to her horn?!”
The governor simply gave Rarity a sad look.
Clockwork hovered out of the car, carrying a bundle of two sets of arctic clothing in his hooves. “It'll be easier to carry everything and leave no trail if we can get them both changed into these -”
The sergeant cut him off, “No time, we're too late already, they'll be here any second, we'll do it when-” he gave a sharp yank on the governor's lead as he took a step forward.
She let out a loud “hurk!” as the slipknot pulled her neck, and fell onto the ice.
He stopped. “Make me stop again and I'll cut your wings,” he warned with a quick snap back at her.
She clambered back onto her hooves. “I'm not used to not being able to catch myself with! -” her shocked protest quickly mellowed, “I'm sorry.”
As the exchange happened, a set of the warm clothing levitated out of Clockwork's hooves, and quickly slid themselves over Twilight's unconscious form under the blankets. “There,” Rarity said, “I can do that for her, too,” she nodded towards the governor.
Clockwork blinked in surprise.
“Do it,” Gratitude told her.
She was already floating the other set of clothes over to the pegasus when the sergeant nodded and gave her permission, “Let's keep the blankets, though, just use your magic to carry them or secure them to yourself or somepony without a load if you can,” he instructed her. By the time he finished, the governor was glaring at her, wide-eyed and terrified, but now fully dressed in heavy winter gear.
"Now everyone shut up - Grandeur, you need not be reminded of our encounters with patrols. We're about to get a lot of that, but no airplanes this time to warn us of them coming. So shut. Up. Gratitude -" he turned to the medic, "- can Snowglade move?"
"If she can't?" Gratitude asked.
"Then we all die fighting an entire company," he said, his voice more solid than the ice sheets they stood on.
"I'm worried about her wound, but let's keep her from getting new ones - she can move." Gratitude took only moments to gingerly lift Snowglade onto her back.
She quietly whimpered as she was lifted.
"Then let's move!"
The governor barely caught herself as the sergeant yanked her line again and began walking at a brisk pace. She hurried, hoping to keep the line from pulling taut.
Everypony started following, Clockwork only lagging as he picked up the bundled and limp Twilight, carrying her in his forelegs as he hovered next to the party.
And so they set off to disappear back into The Abyss, Clockwork carrying Twilight without her horn, Rarity with a limp, Gratitude with an injured Snowglade on her back, the sergeant with a mission, and the governor with a rope around her neck.